


After School Enigma

by LA_Elias



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Death Note, Alternate Universe - Yagami Light Is Not Kira (Death Note), Crime Scenes, Gay Panic, Heteronormativity, How Do I Tag, I know I said Light was a bottom, Internalized Homophobia, L is like “I can’t have feelings”, LGBTQ Character, Misa is great cuz she’s actually smart in canon but everyone likes to ignore that, Multi, Murder Mystery, Panic Attacks, Secrets, Souichirou’s A+ Parenting, Undercover, Yagami Souichirou's A+ Parenting, You’ll love Sayu - you’ll see what I mean later on tho, actually good parenting and not homophobic bullshit, also we all know that pretty boys with a god complex are bottoms, but it’s 2020, but like, idk - Freeform, im done now, just found that tag, never let me do this shit again, oh well, okay, on with the fic, switches rights!, then he does, whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26527960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LA_Elias/pseuds/LA_Elias
Summary: L is handed a case involving a string of murdered teens. Light Yagami is his number one suspect...looks like L will need to go undercover as a High school student. Meanwhile, an innocent Light Yagami does have a secret, but not one as morbid as L believes.
Relationships: Amane Misa & Yagami Light, L & Yagami Light, L/Yagami Light, Mikami Teru & Yagami Light
Comments: 325
Kudos: 678





	1. Extracurricular

**Author's Note:**

> Hiii~~~ I’m back :0  
> I told y’all I’d return :)  
> So, thank you for clicking on this fic; I really appreciate every one of you :3
> 
> Anyway, this is going to be a bit of a longer fic, so...STRAP IN
> 
> Ps: just wanted to remind y’all I will finish everything I write :)
> 
> TW; Crime Scene and Gruesome Depictions. Nothing too bad, but I wanted to let y’all know.

L finished his latest case in Russia. It was a mafia trying to overthrow the government, but in less than two weeks, L easily pulled some strings to get the entire scheme to fall apart.

All it took was a few thousand dollars, really. 

Far too easy for L.

And now, the 17 year old was back to boredom. Back to taking on the smaller cases he could solve in a matter of hours.

How tiresome.

How lonely.

The thought in of itself shocked L; the prospect of loneliness not typically crossing his mind. But the more he thought about it; who did he even have to talk to?

He had Watari, but Watari was more a father figure and...servant? It was complicated 

He used to have his successors, A and B, but...that didn’t turn out very well.

So, once again, L was alone. And bored. Lord, he was bored out of his mind. 

“L, there’s a new case in the Kanto region of Japan,” Watari spoke as he wheeled the cart of sweets towards L.

L’s mood instantly improved. “What type of case?” L asked, now eating a slice of cheesecake.

“Well, there have been fifteen murder victims; all High school students, all involved in crime in some way. I typically wouldn’t bring it up, but the NPA has been working on it for more than a year and they still have no leads. They’re begging for your help.”

L considered the case. All High school students? Why High schoolers? The case seemed to be complicated enough to entertain L for a while.

“Hmm...okay, tell the chief to get a few trusted individuals and I will work with them remotely for now. I don’t want the public to know I’ve taken the case. I will also need the case files.”

With that, Watari left to retrieve the files.

*****

The case file was small enough to cause concern. The information the NPA had gathered was almost nonexistent.

There were no fingerprints, no hair fibers, no DNA evidence at all. All they had was when and where each body was found along with cause of death.

Each body was found a moon cycle apart, thus dubbing them “The Tsuki Killing”. They were all found in alleyways in garbage bags. 

But what was truly interesting was the cause of death for each victim and how they varied.

The first six victims were killed using barium acetate, which caused a heart attack.

The next four victims were killed by a bullet to the skull.

The next three were stabbed.

And the final two were heavily mutilated while they were still alive.

L squinted at the word ‘mutilated’ before flipping to the crime scene photos. The first thirteen photos were nothing L hadn’t seen before. But the last two were incredibly disturbing. The hands and feet were missing. They were disemboweled and had their intestines hanging out. But possibly, the most disturbing was the heart that had been removed from between the ribs and shoved down the throat of the victim.

Indeed, they were mutilated.

And perhaps even more disturbing was autopsy reports that showed they suffered through all of this and, most likely, didn’t die until they were already inside the garbage bags.

From this, L deduced five important facts about the killer:

\- They were self righteous and arrogant. Why else would they only kill those involved in crime? Some were involved in drugs, others in harassment; it didn’t seem like the killer was murdering for personal reasons.

\- They will continue to gain confidence as they go on killing, getting more and more morbid as time goes on.

\- They are decently smart as to not leave fingerprints and evidence behind.

\- They follow a strict schedule.

\- The killer is probably a student.

L pondered the last point.

“Watari, book a flight to Japan,” L said.

“Okay...may I ask why this case in particular? I thought you said you would be working remotely. You’re reluctant to show your face for most cases,” Watari questioned.

“Well, it seems as the case is going now, I may need to go undercover,” L explained.

Watari has a surprised expression on his face. It was very rare L would actually interact with suspects or crime scenes. But Watari didn’t question it. “Understood, should we leave tomorrow?”

“Yes, sounds good,” L stood and walked to the window of they’re Russian suite.

_ ‘Who are you? _ ’ L thought.

*****

“Ryuzaki, our guests are going to be arriving soon,” Watari informed.

L nodded his head. He knew he was taking a large risk, but that only added to the entertainment. He wasn’t being reckless, no, he was only making things more interesting.

There was a knock and the door and L called for whoever it was to enter.

There stood 4 men in the doorway.

“Hello. I am L,” L spoke calmly, although his heart was pounding. It had been quite a while since he’d come into human contact with anyone other than Watari.

“I’m Soichiro Yagami, chief of police. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” a well built man spoke in a deep voice.

“Shuichi Aizawa,” a man with broccoli shaped hair spoke.

“Kanzo Mogi,” the tallest and most intimidating one spoke.

“I’m Touta Matsuda! It’s nice to meet you,” the youngest looking one spoke and held his hand out for a handshake. L ignored it.

L walked towards his chair and gestures for the others to sit down. After everyone’s phones were set aside, he began to discuss.

The discussion was simple, a quick rundown of the case, small details from forensics, the usual. After a few minutes of review, it was time to lay down the plan of action.

“With the information gathered previous to my involvement in this case, I was able to deduce that whoever the murderer is, they are in high school,” L stated, “and I believe it would be of great benefit if I went undercover as a high school student to continue to gather information. It would increase my chances of coming in contact with the murderer or one of their possible victims.”

“Wait, what makes you believe the murderer is a high school student?” Aizawa asked.

L couldn’t help but sigh, “I believe the fact that all the victims are high school students is enough of an indicator. Not to mention, some of the supposed crimes committed by these individuals would most likely only be known by students. For example, victim 5 was known for harassing students for money, but was never formally convicted. This also applies to victims 3, 9 and 10,” L explained.

“So you’re going to go undercover as a high school student...isn’t that a bit of a small task for...you know, L?” Matsuda asked and vaguely gestured towards L. L shrugged.

L knew that Matsuda was right, but damn. L was bored out of his mind with these small cases. Maybe some undercover work would spice things up; especially for a case like this.

Was it a bit stupid to put this all at risk? Yes, probably. But that’s what made it fun.

“Which school are you going to?” Matsuda asked with sparkling eyes. 

“Considering the first murder victim went to Daikoku Private Academy, I believe it would be a good place to start,” L explained.

Soichiro reacted to that before saying, “My son goes there.”

L tilted his head at that.

“How coincidental; although, it should go without saying that you are forbidden from telling anyone about me or my relation to the case,” L stated.

“Of course,” Soichiro Answered.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly as L explained various details of the case and certain predictions of who the murderer is.

Within no time, the meeting was completed and the task force left.

L was back to boredom. His mind went back to the meeting and then stumbled upon the small detail of Soichiro’s son.

L decided to indulge his curiosity and looked up the Yagami family information. He found the name Light Yagami and decided ‘Fuck it, let’s google him.’

L was thoroughly surprised when articles popped up raving about Light. Some talked about cases he had solved in his early teens, others talked about his tennis accomplishments, but most importantly, one article ranked Light as the number one student in Japan. 

L dove deeper into more private files and found that Light had helped with cases in the past, but stopped suddenly at the age of 14.

The case he was working on dealt with a string of murdered boys ranging from ages 8-16. 

L clicked on the long closed case file and found gruesome images that would easily damage someone as young as Light was...but why? Why did Light suddenly stop solving cases? Did he become disgusted with criminals to the point where he decided to take matters into his own hands? Was Light the murderer?

L looked again at Light’s name and found the kanji for Light was actually moon, pronounced “Tsuki”. 

The Tsuki Killings.

And that is how Light Yagami became the prime suspect of the Tsuki Murder Case.


	2. Study Hall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is up now, woohoo 🥳 
> 
> Hope y’all like it! Unfortunately, Light and L won’t meet till next chapter, but I think I might post chapter 3 earlier than usual!
> 
> We’ll see 👀

Flick.

Twirl.

Hold.

The English teacher droned on about the symbolism in Paradise Lost.

Flick. 

Twirl. 

Hold. 

Light spun the pen in his hand for the thousandth time that day. Everything the teachers tried to teach him, he already knew. 

By the beginning of eighth grade, there was no class that could keep his attention. And now he was suffering chronic boredom and restlessness.

**Flick** .

_ Twirl _ .

Hol-

Light dropped his pen. 

It was almost surprising; after the thousands of times he repeated the twirling action, he still managed to mess up from time to time. He quickly scooped up the pen.

Two hours of boring classes later, Light was on his way to lunch, and though he hated to admit it, it was probably his favorite period because it was at least somewhat entertaining.

“Liiiiggggghhhtttt~~~~” Misa chirped from behind him.

The bubbly blonde came hurtling at Light with open arms. Light sidestepped her.

“Hi Misa, how was class?” Light asked out of politeness.

“Uggghh, sooo boring. And that stupid Sosuke guy is really sucking up to Mrs. Nakayama! I swear, they're probably sleeping with each other,” Misa pouted as they walked to their usual table. Light couldn’t help but laugh at that. 

“Oh, hi Light, how’s it going?” Mikami asked from behind his thick glasses. Light took a subconscious note of how much better Mikami would look without them.

“Good. A bit boring, honestly,” Light sat down with his lunch. Mikami went on about the usual talking points. Unfortunately, said talking points consisted of the Tsuki killings, jail time and such. Light internally cringed.

If it weren’t for what had happened to Light all those years ago, he’d probably have solved the tsuki case already.

_ ‘I’m never getting involved in a case again,’ _ Light promised himself.

“...I know! The next moon cycle is coming around, I wonder who it’s gonna be this time...” Misa said.

“Who could it be though? Everyone seems to have stopped distributing drugs and doing crime since the murders started,” Mikami pondered.

Light was lost in thought. Just because Light wasn’t actively investigating didn’t mean he didn’t check with his father to see how the investigation was going. From what Light was told, over the course of a year, nothing had been gathered besides some useless speculation on who could be committing the crimes.

His father had told him that the NPA had recently let the case go cold.

_ ‘It’s strange, though. The murders are still happening. Why would they let the case rest?’  _ Light thought.

Before he knew it, lunch was over and the boring day continued on.

*****

Study hall was a spawn of Satan. Light had never,  _ never,  _ been in a more useless class than study hall.

His classmates worked on homework or talked and Light wanted to jump out the window. And that continued for a good 50 minutes until school was out and Light could finally go home.

In no class was Light’s boredom more prominent than study hall.

Light sighed and smacked his head in his desk, accidentally disrupting some of the students around him. He sighed for the thousandth time.

He decided to eavesdrop on the conversation between two girls because if Light couldn’t entertain himself, hopefully others would do it for him.

“...Oh, did you hear there’s a new foreign exchange student coming to our school?” One girl said.

“Really? I had no clue. Where from?” Another girl asked.

“Um, I think it was somewhere in Europe. Fuck, what was it...it was like, Ireland. But like...England! That was it! Yeah, we’re going to have a student from England.”

“Oh god, I hope he’s cute!”

_ ‘You and me both,’  _ Light said in his mind

Light took a mental note of their conversation before drifting to sleep.

*****

“So, Light, anything new?” Misa questioned on their typical walk home. Misa was probably his best friend. She wasn’t the smartest, but she was deathly good at keeping secrets.

“No, nothing really,” Light said as they passed a small street market. Apples were supposed to be in season soon.

“Aww, come on Light, I know that look. You seem kinda lonely.”

“Misa, I have no clue what you’re talking about. I’m not lonely; I have you, Mikami, and Takada. Even though Takada has been working lately, it’s fine.”

“Hmph! I know you’re lying, I can see it in your eyes. You know Light, I know a few people...I know! I could hook you up with a hot guy! Then you’ll stop walking around like it’s the end of the world!”

Light winced. Another thing he forgot, Misa was one of the only people to know about Light being gay. 

He remembered it like it was yesterday. It was their freshman year. Misa was asking him out over and over and eventually started sobbing after the continued rejection. Light (gay) panicked and told her that he was only interested in dudes. Originally, he was scared as hell she’d:

  * Ask him to be her gay best friend.
  * Try to ‘convert’ him, or worse of all 
  * Tell everyone about him. 



But she did none of those. 

She just looked up at him and said, “Omg, I’m totally bi, we can be like, the secret closet cases. Wait- we can be the secret gaygents.”

And they’ve been best friends ever since.

“Misa, I already told you, I don’t need a boyfriend. How do you think the school would react? Oh god- how do you think my parents would react? Sayu’s accepting, but my mom? I have no clue. And my dad...”

“Light, have you every asked them how they viewed queer people?” Misa asked.

“Misa, I might as well play Elton John and walk out in thigh highs; asking my parents about it would basically be coming out.”

Misa huffed at that, but then turned her head and sighed, “Believe me Light, I get it. At the rate I’m going at now, I’ll never be able to come out of the closet unless I move to America or something.”

The idea of moving to America had been a dream of Light’s ever since he was a kid. America was far more liberal about LGBTQ issues compared to Japan. Light wanted to escape the suffocating conservatism and live in an accepting area, like California or Florida. 

Light was realistic though. He didn’t think moving to America would instantaneously erase homophobia from his future, but he also knew for a fact it would most likely decrease it.

Light cringed as he recalled his seven year old self wanting to go down the path of investigation. 

Well. He did less than 5 years later.

And he never was going to again.

Well...he was never going to go down the path of murder investigations. Non violent crimes though...

Light had dedicated almost two years into a side investigation on the world famous and mysterious detective, L. He found a few key details, some groundbreaking alternative titles and aliases, but other than that, nothing substantial. At least it was an entertaining and non violent investigation. 

The thought of getting involved in a case was absolutely revolting; that’s why Light denied the temptation to hack into his father’s computer and read through the police files.

Misa turned to leave and Light was left alone again. _ ‘Maybe I should call up someone to hang out with this weekend,’  _ Light thought, but then another thought replaced it entirely;  _ ‘Do I have any close friends besides Misa?’ _

As Light approached his home, he felt a sudden pit form in his stomach from the words Misa spoke. 

**_‘You seem kinda lonely’._ **

The words dug so deep because Light knew it was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING ALSKSJSHSBSB
> 
> I read every comment and appreciate them all
> 
> If you like this chapter, don’t forget to leave a kudos


	3. Communications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me posting a huge chapter earlier than my normal schedule ;)
> 
> I usually update 1 chapter a week, but I had the time...so... enjoy :)

“...and this is why we should all be conscientious of other people’s experiences; you never know what someone is going through or what they’ve been through-“ the communications teacher was cut off by a knock on the door.

Light was just happy the boring communications class had come to a halt. He twirled his pen and stared out the window until a new figure moved into the room.

Light looked up to see a complete stranger enter the room.

Light dropped his pen to his desk.

The person that stood before him was very...interesting. 

Very interesting.

Light’s brain went straight into analysis mode as he looked at the teenager at the front of the class. He was skinny; looking somewhat underweight, but that might have just been because of how tall he was. His skin was extremely pale and his under eyes were well defined; he wasn’t getting much sleep. Then there was his posture; almost completely hunched over - Kyphosis. Then the abnormally long extremities and long fingers - mild case of Marfan’s syndrome (?). Finally, the eyes themselves. The color of his pupils was almost the same as the color of his iris. Almost. But there was a small hint of silver that shone through.

Those silver eyes locked on Light’s amber eyes.

Light forgot to breathe.

Light was thankful that out of pure instinct, Light smiled politely.

“Class, this is our new exchange student from England, Rue Ryuzaki. I trust you’ll all be nice to him,” the teacher spoke before turning to Ryuzaki, “Now, um...oh, Light, is the president of the student council, he could show you around. Isn’t that right Light?”

Light was president of the student council because Misa wanted to be Vice President so it could look good on her college resume, but she didn’t want to be president because of the responsibility. Since Misa knew Light could handle it, she talked him into it (though, there was some bribery involved; that’s how Light got a Netflix account). There was hardly any competition when Light ran because he was so well liked by the school; it was an easy win. With Mikami as treasurer and Takada as secretary, there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish, but most of the time, being student council President was a boring and mundane job.

Never had Light been so thankful he was president.

Light smiled politely again, “Of course; it would be my pleasure.”

“Great, you can do that now. I’m sure you won’t be missing much,” the teacher said, smiling.

Light moved to the front of the room where Ryuzaki was standing.

“Well then, let’s go,” Light said.

Ryuzaki nodded.

*****

L was absorbing as much information as humanly possible from the seemingly blank slate that was Light Yagami.

On the surface, there wasn’t much there. Sure; past achievements and intelligence (and, yeah, Light was rather attractive. Whatever), but where was the personality? The impulse? Where was the cake under the frosting?

_ ‘Mmmm...cake’ _

Wait- he needed to focus.

So far, Light was a puzzling suspect. A genius who stopped solving mysteries; it sounds like an oxymoron. So why stop solving puzzles? 

Well, that’s what Ryuzaki was going to figure out through poking and prodding, but first, he had to do the boring task of making peace.

They walked out of the Communications class and Light asked about L’s schedule.

“Hmm, so you have statistics first period with Mrs. Suzuki in room G17. Okay so the way the school is layed out...” Light continued to talk about the school but L was more focused on Light’s speech patterns and the way he talked.

It was infuriating. There was no sign of emotion in Light’s voice.  _ ‘Siri has more conviction than this,’ _ L thought.

“Got that, Ryuzaki?” Light asked. L nodded and was thankful he studied the school layout beforehand.

“So, you’re from England, yeah?” Light asked.

Ryuzaki nodded.

“Um...do you speak Japanese?” Light asked.

L came to the realization that he hadn’t said a word since they met.

“Ah, yes, I do. I just don’t talk very much.”

Light laughed at that. 

The laugh was both polite and nervous, but nonetheless, contrived. 

“Your accent is pretty good; did you grow up in a Japanese speaking household?” Light asked.

“You could...say that,” L answered.

They arrived at the door of the first room and Light looked at L’s schedule to see where the next room was before they kept walking.

“I have to wonder though, why did you transfer here?” Light asked.

L observed at Light with a speculative gaze. The question in itself was innocent, but there were subconscious investigative undertones. Interesting. Even when Light wasn’t trying, he was wanting to solve mysteries. 

So why did he stop?

“Oh, well, I’m 18 now; I can do whatever I want. I’ve always wanted to come to Japan,” L answered. The age thing was a lie; L was only 17

“Really? How did your parents react to that?” Light asked in a casual tone.

“...” L was now squinting and mentally cursing himself for:

  * Not preparing for this question.



  * Not shifting the conversation away from himself sooner.



“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...” Light let the conversation trail off.

L would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed at how Light’s innocent conversation had managed to pry so much into L’s personal life.

“It’s fine,” L said simply, “so, anything exciting going on around here?”

“No, not really-“ Light cringed at what he said, “uh, actually, yeah, there’s...an ongoing investigation for a, um, murder case.”

L feigned surprise, “Wait, what?!?”

“Yeah, every moon cycle, a new kid turns up dead. It’s...awful,” Light looked away in distaste.

L internally congratulated himself for making Light show some semblance of emotion other than “polite”. Polite wasn’t even an emotion, but if it was, it would be all Light Yagami would ever express. Nice on the outside, easy to get along with, but fake.

“Really...that’s terrible. How long has this been happening?” L asked.

“Close to a year. About 15 kids have turned up dead; all from local high schools, all involved in some sort of crime. Until the murderer gets caught...my best advice would be to stay out of trouble,” Light explained, a pained expression on his face.

“Really? Hmm...well then, I’ll have to keep that in mind. Anyway, do you think they’ll find the killer?” Ryuzaki pressed for more information.

“I don’t know. The NPA has been working on it for a while and they haven’t found anything substantial.”

“How do you know that?” Ryuzaki asked, already knowing the answer.

“My dad is chief of the NPA,” Light explained, “anyway, I think the NPA is looking in all the wrong places.”

L felt a small smirk creep on to his face as Light made the arrogant comment, “Oh really, and what would you suggest?”

Light answered immediately, “I would suggest the NPA give up on trying to find evidence. That isn’t working. What they need are people on the inside they can trust. Maybe if they do that, they can figure out more about the killer or at least the future victims.”

L’s heart stopped because _how the hell did Light literally suggest everything L was already doing._

L took a deep breath and shook his head, “Maybe you should solve the case then.”

Light’s step faltered and he nearly tripped. They began walking again at a slower pace.

“Ha, funny, but no,” Light quickly dismissed.

“Oh? But, I was just thinking, as the kid of the chief of the NPA, that you’d be interested in Forensics or Criminal Justice,” L explained.

“No, not really. I’m more interested in writing. Maybe move to America, I don’t know. How about you?” Light asked.

Light smiled genuinely for the first time since they met. 

But wait. Why would Light smile like that? Was it something L said? No, nothing stood out. Then...was it L himself?

L felt his heart tremor and wondered if this was yet another symptom of Marfan’s Syndrome. He would need to ask Watari, because there was no other reason L’s heart would...do...whatever the hell that was.

“I don’t really know,” L answered simply, trying to find a way to redirect the conversation. 

Light beat him to it.

“But, why did you come to Japan? I understand how, but why would you want to come here and how have you not heard of the tsuki killings?” Light asked.

“Well, I’m a foreign exchange student. I want a good college resumé. Why, you think I’m some sort of spy or something?” L joked, internally screaming because why the actual fuck would he say that-

Light laughed.

_‘It was worth it to hear him laugh’_ , a small voice spoke in L’s head.

Great. Not only did L have chronic heart problems, he was a schizophrenic now too. Just. Peachy.

*****

Light observantly watched the mystery that was Rue Ryuzaki.

Ryuzaki was...strange. Which was fine. But Light’s Gaydar was going nuts.

Well, kinda.

You see, Light knew that L wasn’t straight. Light just needed to figure out what, as Misa would say, “flavor of straightn’t” Ryuzaki was.

Ryuzaki was a mystery and Light was dead set on solving it. Light could already tell Ryuzaki was going to be a new obsession of his. Light felt his hands sweat throughout the conversation and tried not to let his nervous demeanor slip through, but Light was loving the thrill of the mystery, the thrill of Ryuzaki.

Their hands brushed and Light flinched. Light was so detached from reality he barely noticed Ryuzaki was right there.

_ ‘Might be better to actually talk to him if you want to know him, idiot, _ ’ Light chastised himself.

But it was too late.

“Well, that would be the end of the tour. The school, while it is fairly big, isn’t too complicated,” Light said as they rounded the corner back to the communications room.

Ryuzaki grabbed Light's sleeve.

  
Light felt his face grow red, as if the small action of Ryuzaki grabbing Light’s sleeve meant something more. But it didn’t. Obviously.

  
_‘Are you sure-‘_

_’Oh, shut up subconscious,’_ Light thought to himself.

“Oh, okay. What would you recommend I do if I get lost?” Ryuzaki asked, tentatively.

Light had two options now. Either give Ryuzaki a map of the school or...

“Well, if you get really lost and you need help, just contact me,” Light said as he quickly scribbled down his telephone number on a slip of paper. He handed the slip of paper to Ryuzaki and approached the door to the class.

“Thank you, Light. It’s been nice talking to you.”

And with that, Ryuzaki entered the classroom along with Light.

_ ‘Who are you, Ryuzaki?’ _ Light thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thank you for reading!!!
> 
> You guys are always so nice in the comments 🥺
> 
> Like, really, thank you so, so much! I never expected to receive such positive feed back! Y’all really make my day and I hope you like the story :)


	4. Lunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whhhaaaattt?!?! Three posts within about a week of each other? Who? Not me...no...
> 
> You guys always make me so happy and motivated to write more! Since I wrote ahead, I decided to post another chapter!
> 
> Hope you like it 🥺
> 
> *btw, just wanna clarify that Misa, Mikami, and Takada are the only ones that know about Light’s sexuality*

L was fine.

Yep.

Okay, okay, actually- no, L wasn’t fine. L was in the cafeteria and came to the realization he had nowhere to sit.

‘Make new friends,’ Watari had suggested before L left.

Easier said than done.

Because here L was, standing awkwardly, shifting from side to side with nowhere to sit-

“ _ LlliiiiiiIIIIIGGGGggghhhtttt~~~~~~~~ _ ” a high pitched female voice sang. Her voice was so sweet, it gave L’s ears cavities.

“Misa, calm down,” Light spoke. L recognized voices more than faces, so when he heard the deep, full voice of Light Yagami, he instantly knew who it was.

“Light! How can I be calm when I’m so happy to see you!”

“You’re too much,” Light sounded amused, blushing a bit.

“Aw, come on, _ you love me~ _ ” Misa smiled.

_ ‘So, Light has a girlfriend. How interesting,’ _ L thought. It wasn’t unusual, but it made L feel...weird.

“Oh my God! Are you the foreign exchange student?!?” Misa spotted L standing a few feet away.

“Yes, hello. I’m Ryuzaki,” L said plainly.

“I’m Misa Amane! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” She smiled adorably as she spoke, “Come on! Sit with us!”

She then grabbed L’s arm and dragged him to a table. L had never met someone who spoke in all italics, !, and ~ s, but there’s a first time for everything.

Not to mention, Misa looked like a good opportunity to get close to many kids socially because of her extrovert personality, and, most importantly, she had a connection to Light.

They sat at the table, which was full of kids, but there were 2 people seemingly separated from the rest. One was a man with long hair and thick glasses, the other was a woman with short hair almost in a bob. Misa sat down next to Light and she was practically hanging off of Light’s shoulder.

_ ‘Ah, so an affectionate couple...would that make Misa Amane an accomplice? I’ll have to keep an eye on her...’ _ L thought.

“Hello, I’m Kiyomi Takada. And you are?” The girl with the short bob spoke.

“I’m Ryuzaki,” L answered shortly.

“I’m Mikami. It’s a pleasure to meet you. So, are you the exchange student everyone’s been talking about?” The guy with thick glasses spoke.

“Yes, I was born in England and decided to come here for the school year,” L explained simply.

“Actually, Mikami,” Light leaned towards Mikami, “I heard he’s a spy. Don’t tell anyone, though.” Light used an obnoxious stage whisper.

The four of them burst out laughing and it took a good 5 seconds for L to realize, _ oh shit, that was just a joke. _

“So, Ryuzaki, I assume you’ve been popular with the ladies?” Misa asked, winking, before she pointed to a group of girls sitting at a table across the cafeteria. The girls looked at Ryuzaki, looked away, and whispered and giggled. Ryuzaki scrunched his nose.

“Misa, I think you’re mistaken. I believe they may be poking fun at my appearance, rather than admiring me,” Ryuzaki stared at his lunch, suddenly feeling idiotic because people were being _murdered_ , and here Ryuzaki was, getting embarrassed by some girls at lunch-

“No, Ryuzaki, I heard them talking~ I think you’re gonna get some confessions tomorrow! So, Ryuzaki, got an eye on a lucky la-uh-person?” Misa stuttered for the first time since L met her.

_ ‘Interesting, substituting ’lady’ with ’person’, making no assumption about my sexuality...is this just because Misa’s more progressive, or perhaps...’ _

L then decided there were two possible conclusions:

  * Misa really is just a considerate, nice, progressive person. 



  * Misa has a personal connection to a member of the LGBTQ community, thus, is more considerate of diversity. 



L decided to put that to the back of his mind because it didn’t matter for the investigation.

“No, I haven’t really put much thought into dating,” L answered vaguely. It was the truth. L knew somewhere deep inside, he wanted someone to spend the rest of his life with someone to love, someone who was on the same level as him, (someone who would suck his di-) you know. The usual.

But all of those urges were animalistic and didn’t need to be fulfilled.

Right?

“Hm~ well, if you ever want to find someone, I’m sure I could set you up~” Misa said.

Changing the subject, Light spoke up, “Oh, Takada, how was work yesterday?”

“Well, the channel has been getting more attention. It’s unfortunate because all of the attention has been coming from the Tsuki killings,” Takada explained.

“Where do you work?” L decided to pry for information.

“I help my dad at his news station. I help write the broadcasts, but because we need more news stories, I have to work over time,” Takada smiled politely.

“What do you write about?” L asked.

“A lot of it’s speculation about the Tsuki case,” Takada answered.

“I’m starting to believe with all of the people dying, the murderer will eventually run out of people to kill,” Mikami tilted his head in thought.

“I don’t think that’s right. I think if the Tsuki killer ran out of criminals, they’d move onto innocents,” Light suggested.

“Why would you say that?” L asked.

“Well, if I were a self righteous murderer and most of my targets stopped turning up, I’d start killing other targets. So, if all of the criminals are dead, next would probably be the rude people. After that, probably the wasteful people. And so on until I’m the only one left,” Light took a bit of his lunch, “but who knows? That’s just my guess.”

_ ‘Interesting. The use of ‘if I was’ almost shows an indifference to whether or not you are accused of the crime. Not to mention, using strong words like ‘criminals’ instead of ‘victims’...’ _ L thought. 

“But I don’t think that’s true,” Takada contradicted, “because the Tsuki killer seems methodical and organized; I don’t think they’d change their victims just because they ran out.”

“‘Who’s next?’ should be the real question,” Mikami pointed out.

“No, the real question should be,” Misa turned dramatically towards L, “will you do my English homework for me?”

“Pffftt,” Light struggled to keep his laugh in.

L was intrigued by Misa’s ability to change the subject without anyone realizing. 

But why would she change the subject? 

“No, I’m afraid that’s against the school rules, but I can tutor you,” L said plainly.

“ _ Uuughhh _ , that’s what Light said. Thank you for your offer, but Light’s been helping me. I just-“ 

“‘Am lazy’ Should be how you finish that sentence,” Light pointed out.

Misa pouted.

“So, how long have you two been dating?” L decided to ask. If they started dating before the Tsuki case, there was a high chance Misa was an accomplice.

But the reactions the group had left L puzzled. 

Light choked on his lunch and Misa stifled a laugh. Mikami snorted and Takada chuckled. L had the inclination he was missing something important. There was a vital piece of information L didn’t know.

“Um, Misa and I aren’t dating or anything,” Light clarified emotionlessly, except for the slightly amused expression in his eyes.

L squinted as he pondered why.

“If Light and I were together though, we’d have some good looking kids. In fact, I might ask for a donation in the future. What do you say Light? I mean, you got good genes so...” Misa could hardly get the whole sentence out without laughing.

It took a good five seconds for everyone to understand Misa was talking about  **that** type of donation.

“MISA! Oh my God, please stop talking,” Light hid his face in his hands.

“I mean...she has a point. You have pretty strong genes,” Mikami spoke in a teasing tone.

“Oh my God, please kill me,” Light sank his head down and touched it to the table.

L took a moment to appreciate the group for bringing out the best in Light. Light was finally acting like a normal kid and not a robot. Most of the credit could be given to Misa since L observed they seemed to be the closest. 

“I’m sorry Ryuzaki, we’re probably scaring you! We’re kinda a bunch of weirdos if I haven’t mentioned that yet,” Misa half heartedly apologized

“You guys are the weirdos! I’m the only normal one!” Light insisted. 

There was laughter around the table until Takada received a text on her phone.

“Guys, the next moon cycle is in 10 days...” Takada said, gravely.

There was silence at the table.

“Everyone stay inside, then,” Mikami stated.

Light shifted nervously. The percentage of Light being the Tsuki killer went up, now resting at a solid 10%.

*****

“Mr. Yagami, I would like permission to bug your son’s phone in order to track his location. I will also send an agent to watch him for the next couple of days,” L stated. It was after school and the task force was at headquarters.

“Ryuzaki, do you really think my son is a murderer?” Soichiro asked.

“Hm, in all honesty, yes,” L answered plainly.

Soichiro took a deep breath before nodding slowly.

“Yes, you may bug his phone and follow him. Anything to prove his innocence,” Yagami agreed easily.

  
L nodded wordlessly.

_ ‘In the meantime, let’s see how I can get into trouble,’ _ L thought as he began his search into nearby drug dealers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, you made it! How are you doing sister from another mister/brother from another mother/sib from another crib? Good I hope!
> 
> Thanks for reading my chapter! I update about “once a week”, which really means I’ll update more frequently because I’m inpatient!
> 
> If you like the story, don’t forget to leave a kudos ☺️


	5. Physical Education

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Next chapter, let’s go!!!
> 
> Also, 
> 
> OMG! HOW DO I HAVE OVER 100 KUDOS?!?!? AND SOME OF YOU ARE BOOKMARKING MY STORY!?!? YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!
> 
> I LOVE YALL SM THANK YOU ❤️🥰😘❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️😘❤️🥰
> 
> Also, I talk a bit about my updating schedule in end notes

“Watari, I believe I may be having heart problems,” L announced.

Watari gave L a concerned look before questioning, “And why would you believe that?”

“Well, I’ve been having heart tremors lately,” L explained.

“Really? When did it start?” Watari asked.

“Yesterday at school when I was talking with the suspect. It was very strange; my heart...” L made some vague gesturing with his hands. He moved his hand in front of his chest and balled it up into a fist, hopefully signaling to Watari what he was feeling.

Watari squinted at L before speaking, “And when do said heart tremors occur? Were there any specific triggers? Any patterns?” 

L thought hard before something clicked, “I only get heart problems when I’m around Light Yagami.”

Watari smiled softly, “Ah, I think I know what it is. So, during these heart tremors, do your palms get sweaty?”

“Yes,” L answered seriously.

“Does blood rush to your face?”

“Yes.”

L was getting anxious listening to Watari list off the symptoms. If he had a chronic illness, it could throw a wrench into his case.

“Do you hear your heart beat in your ears?” Watari asked.

“Yes.”

“Is it harder to think?” Watari smiled softly again.

“Yes, my reasoning abilities decrease by over 10%,” L stated. It concerned him when it happened. He hinted at his identity to Light in the most  _ stupid _ fashion.

“Ah, L, I think I know the disease you have. It isn’t all that uncommon and it isn’t lethal,” Watari said. 

L leaned forward in anticipation.

“L, I think you may be experiencing...attraction,” Watari let out a small laugh.

“...” L was frozen in his seat, ”...what? No, that can’t be right. I think I’m having heart issues.” 

“L, isn’t it weird that these heart issues are only happening when your around Light Yagami, a decently attractive young man that is your age?”

L felt like the world was crumbling around him. What? Attraction? It was normal, human phenomenon, sure, but that was the thing.  _ L wasn’t supposed to be normal.  _ He was only around to solve cases for his lonely existence before...well, dying. And that was it. No family, no friends and definitely, under no circumstances, could L have a  _ lover _ .

It was by his own volition that L had set these rules. 

Because relationships and L just didn’t work; not friendships, so no way in hell would a romantic relationship work out.

“But...that’s not what...,” L stated, still somewhat dumbfounded and distrusting of Watari’s words. “Actually, I think you may be mistaken. There is no way what you claim is true.”

Watari sighed and shook his head.

*****

“Sssooo, Light, you and Ryuzaki, eh?” Misa giggled as lunch finished up.

It was the fourth day in a row that Ryuzaki had sat with Light’s group during lunch, which meant, Ryuzaki was practically a permanent member of their group at this point. When Ryuzaki sat at the table on the third day, Misa had stated that Ryuzaki was now  _ ‘indoctrinated into our cult’ _ , which made Ryuzaki’s brow crease, but left an amused expression on his face regardless.

“What do you mean,  _ ‘me and Ryuzaki’ _ ?” Light decided to play dumb.

“Oh, come on Light! It’s like, you’re katsudon and he’s a Russian figure skater!” Misa exclaimed. Light gave her a funny look, so she sighed and said, “agh, you wouldn’t get it.”

“Misa, whatever it is, if you wanna talk about it, we could do it after school tomorrow. I know you have vocals tonight,” Light easily shifted from Japanese to English which earned an eye roll from Misa.

“Fine! We meeting at the hidden cemetery! And you helping me with English homework! Got it?” Misa answered in broken English. Light winced at her incorrect grammar.

“Sure. See you at 6 tomorrow,” Light answered before heading to class.

*****

Hidden cemetery. 

Hidden.

Cemetery.

L banged his head against his desk in frustration. He was back at headquarters with the rest of the task force and they shot him funny looks. But L didn’t pay them any attention. __

_ ‘Where the hell was this hidden cemetery and why were Light and Misa meeting there?’ _ L thought.

He overheard the conversation between Light and Misa. He didn’t think much of it until Light started speaking in English, and then, to his surprise, Misa also (kinda) spoke English. 

L decided there was only one way to figure out.

“Watari, I would like you to notify agent Raye Penber that Light Yagami will be taking a different route home tomorrow. Ask him to keep his ear piece in, we’ll be communicating with him regularly tomorrow,” L stated.

“Yes, on it,” Watari replied.

L spun in his chair, trying to figure out where the hell this hidden cemetery was.

It wasn’t a normal cemetery, that was for sure. No, this sounded like a murder spot.

Why else would Light be so secretive?

Even if Light was innocent, there was still something he was hiding.

L looked over at Soichiro and decided he may as well ask one of the questions that was echoing in the back of his mind.

“Mr. Yagami?” L asked, “Why did Light stop solving mysteries?”

Soichiro shifted in his seat and looked at L distrustingly.

“Mr. Yagami, any information at all could help you son be cleared of suspicion sooner. You’ve allowed me to bug his phone, you’ve allowed me to send an agent after him, so, I don’t see the harm in answering my question,” L explained.

Soichiro sighed. He looked around the room at the rest of the task force, who all seemed to be preoccupied with the case.

“When Light was 14, he was solving a serial murder. Most of the victims were young boys,” Soichiro took a deep breath.

“Ah, so, Light was threatened or attacked by the murder?” L asked. Although, his mind prepared for much worse.

“No, Light wasn’t attacked...His best friend Yamamoto was a victim-“ Soichiro coughed uncomfortably, “-uh...Light hasn’t been the same since. We tried to encourage Light to see a therapist, but he refused. He never talked about it- he still doesn’t talk about it. I think Light may still feel guilty. He...never took on another case and I don’t think it would be a good idea to change that. Not until Light is ready.”

Ah. That sure wasn’t the answer L was expecting. The chief finished talking and went back to his work, seemingly uncomfortable with the subject.

L sighed and decided to look more into Yamamoto later.

*****

The next day after school, Light was walking home alone. Misa said she had to rush home and finish her homework so they could meet tonight.

_ ‘I can do this. It’s just a walk home. It’s less than 20 minutes. I can- WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?!?’ _ Light’s internal dialogue was interrupted by a shifting in the bushes. Out came a stray cat an Light let out a small laugh.

_ ‘See? It’s not a big deal. In fact, I’ll take the short cut,’ _ Light decided to turn the corner into a path that connected two neighborhoods. The trail was actually a part of a small park, but Light usually took the trail straight across to get home fastest.

Light was ever paranoid, though. He checked behind him to see if anyone was following. At first, he saw no one, but around the corner, Light saw a small sliver of a coat. Light took 5 steps forward and discreetly looked behind him. Light saw a man’s figure emerge from behind the trees.

Light swallowed and continued walking. He took 4 lefts on the trail in a row, abandoning his plan to go straight forward. Instead, he’d gone in a circle. He looked behind him again. Behind a tree this time, there was the same coat peeking out. 

Light stopped breathing.

He was being stalked, no doubt.

Light opened his phone and considered his options. The police was a no go; the station was too far and they wouldn’t be able to help much without Light’s exact location. Also, if the person following Light had a gun, it would end horribly.

Misa? She lived pretty far. Takada was at work...

Mikami! Of course!

Mikami lived right around the corner of the park. All Light had to do was make it there.

Text or call...we’ll there was a higher chance Mikami would answer if Light called rather than texted. Light glanced behind him again. 

He couldn’t tell if the man following him was in ear shot or not, but Light wasn’t taking any chances. Light came up with a plan.

Okay.

Light pulled his phone out of his backpack and called Mikami. 

It rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

**“Light?”**

Light felt like he could cry.

“Mikami!”

**“Light, is everything okay?”**

“No,” Light answered simply.

There was a pause as Mikami digested the words.  **“What’s wrong?”** Mikami asked, concern present in his voice.

Light prepared to press mute multiple times.

“I’m stupid and I wasn’t being attentive during English class. I was hoping you followed the lesson and I could borrow you notes,” Light said, except, that’s not what Mikami heard.

Light had pressed the mute and unmute button on his phone in a way so the only thing Mikami heard was  _ “I’m...being...followed”. _

**“Are you okay?! What can I do to help!?”** Mikami asked.

“Really? You’d help me with my notes at your house? I mean, I’m on my way home, so I can go there right now,” Light said as he pulled his backpack off of his shoulder and unzipped it.

Mikami took a moment to process what Light meant.  **“Okay, you want to come to my house. Okay...what else can I do? Where are you?”** Mikami asked.

“Right now I’m about 5 minutes from your house; I’m in Komorebi Park. You know, the path you take to school everyday?” Light explained.

**“Are there other people around?”** Mikami asked.

“No,” Light said as he rounded a corner, “Gotta go. Talk to you later.”

**“LIGHT DON’T HANG-“**

Light hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket. He pulled a heavy textbook out of his back pack.

Light hid behind a tree.

And waited.

Light’s heart was beating so loud, he was sure his stalker could hear it.

The man following him rounded the corner.

When the man was one step ahead of the tree, Light ran out from his hiding place and used all of his strength to hit the stalker in the back of the head with his English textbook.

Then Light ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii!!!!😛😛😛
> 
> Thank you guys for reading! I really appreciate the feedback!
> 
> So, I was thinking I could update 2 days a week (tentatively, I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew). I was thinking about Wednesdays and Saturdays. What do y’all think? Should I pick different days?
> 
> Also, this is a kind of a random note, but L’s schedule comes into play, so...
> 
> 9th period L had study hall, and he “flexes out” meaning, he leaves school about an hour before everyone else. Quite a few students do this, but only if you have 9th period study hall. Light has 4th period study hall, so he stays that whole day.


	6. Information Technology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup dudes!
> 
> The next few things just clarify some specifics of the story if you’re curious, but feel free to skip the notes. 
> 
> So, quick note, this story takes place over the typical English school year, which starts in fall and ends in early summer. I did this for a few reasons, mostly having to do with the fact I want all these characters to be closer to 18 than they are to 16. I just think it makes more sense. Also, I think more people are familiar with the American school system than the Japanese’s school system, so I think it would be better in general. 
> 
> Holidays and birthdays are not going to be celebrated because they don’t have much to do with plot, and mostly because I’m too lazy :) 
> 
> (No to mention, time in this fic will typically go faster than time in real life because of time skips. Nothing major, really, just small things, but they make all the difference)
> 
> Anyway, thank you all again! You guys always know what to say to motivate me to write more! ❤️❤️❤️

L was at headquarters talking to Raye on the other end of the line. L listened in as Raye Penber suddenly stopped talking and there was a crashing sound from Raye’s end.

“Mr. Penber, are you alright?” L asked.

There was no response for a few seconds.

“Uugghh, I’m too old for this,” came from the other end of the line.

“Agent Penber, are you okay? What happened?” L asked. 

“I...don’t know. I was walking and then the suspect hit me with something. I don’t really remember that well,” Raye answered.

“What do you remember?” L asked, annoyed.

“I was following the suspect and then we turned the corner. The minute I got past the corner, the suspect hit me in the back of the head with something. I lost him, I’m sorry,” Raye said, disappointment leaking into his voice. 

“Thank you agent Penber; a member from the task force should be there to pick you up shortly. Wait there for now, abandon suspect,” L said before hanging up the line, very agitated.

“Aizawa, where is Penber in relationship to Light?” L asked.

“Penber is a good 300 meters behind Light. The distance is increasing; Light is running away.”

_ ‘Damn you, Light,’ _ L thought as he sighed deeply. The task force had just lost an important part of their investigation because of Light.

Though L was frustrated, he couldn’t help the small spark of astonishment at Light’s success in taking down an FBI agent, which mixed with L’s frustration and made him feel as though he lost a game of battleship rather than an important lead.

“Impressive. A 17 year old kid outdoing an FBI agent,” L commented, “Watari, please take Matsuda to retrieve Mr. Penber.”

L switched to the tab which kept the live feed of Light’s phone. The program L used also kept track of all of Light’s calling and texting history. 

“A phone call? Let’s listen in, shall we?” L said as he hit play.

The call seemed normal enough for someone being followed by a mysterious man. That was until Light went on a tangent about notes for English class.

_ ‘Hmm, is this some sort of code?’ _ L squinted as he struggled to figure out.

Then it clicked.

_ ‘ _ **_’I’m being followed’_ ** _. Light, you genius,’ _ L smirked at Light’s innovation.

*****

_ ‘I’mgonnadieohmygodIdidn’tsignupforthisI’mgonnadieI’mgonnadie,’  _ was all Light could think as he raced the remaining kilometer to Mikami’s house. Light held his textbook close to his chest, not even bothering to put it in his bag as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. His only thought was survival.

_ ‘Now, less than 400 meters till you make it to the road. Don’t die till then, and you’ll be fine.’ _ Light tried to encourage himself.

Light made it to the corner where Mikami’s house was. Mikami stood in the lawn like a worried mom.

“Light!” Mikami caught Light as Light stumbled and almost collapsed. Mikami helped Light inside as Light finally had a chance to catch his breath.

Light sat down on the counter and Mikami went to fetch Light some water.

Mikami rushed back with a glass, “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Should I call the police? Do you know who was following you?”

Light didn’t answer. His head was swimming and he felt like he was going to die.

Suddenly there was no air in the room.

Light held his own throat, but no air was flowing. Tears were stinging his eyes and Light was dying and-

“Light, it’s okay. Breathe. Don’t panic. It’s okay. You’re safe now,” Mikami was now crouching at eye level with Light. “Breathe,” Mikami took a deep breath as if to demonstrate.

Light hid his face in his hands.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Mikami reassured.

“I’m sorry,” Light sunk deeper into himself.

“Hey, look at me,” Mikami put his hands on Light’s shoulder in an attempt to ground Light in reality. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We don’t have to talk about it. It’s fine. Say what you want; I won’t force you.”

Light inhaled deeply, “Okay, okay. I was walking home from school and Misa wasn’t with me; she had stuff to do.”

“Yeah, okay,” Mikami's eyes were glued to Light.

“And I was taking a shortcut when I caught a person following me. I went in a circle and the same guy was behind me,” Light explained.

Mikami nodded.

“And I freaked out and called you. And then I got this idea and I hid behind a tree. When the guy passed me, I knocked him out with my English book and ran,” Light gestured his actions as he spoke.

Mikami’s eyes widened in shock before his face crinkled with laughter.

“Well, you showed him! But Light, what if that was just some guy that you knocked out, oh my God,” Mikami laughter was contagious and Light soon found that his story sounded more paranoid than it did intense.

Light decided to ignore the frequency with which he saw that man outside of his school. 

Or how that same man often followed Misa and Light home.

No, Light decided to assume the man was innocent. Light decided to believe that he had just knocked a random man out because of his paranoia. 

Mikami laughed a bit more before going serious, “Light, if this guy was just some dude, that’s unfortunate for him. But in case your stalker is the Tsuki killer...maybe you should call the cops.”

Light sighed. While that was true, it was also true that Light didn’t get a good look at his stalker’s face. Not to mention, Light was safe in theory because Light wasn’t involved in crime. 

Light’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the buzzing of his phone.

“It’s Misa,” Light took a deep breath before answering the phone, “Hi Misa.”

**“Light! Hey, I was wondering if we could maybe meet earlier because I got rehearsal tonight for the fall show! My manager sprung it on me last minute, sorry.”**

“Sure, Misa. I can meet you at 4,” Light winced as his voice cracked.

**“Oh my God, Light are you okay!?! Did something happen!?!”** Misa asked.

  
Misa may not have been the smartest in math or language, but she was a genius when it came to reading social situations and emotions.

“Um, I’ll tell you about it tonight. Don’t worry about me right now though; I’m with Mikami,” Light reassured her.

**“Okay...if you’re sure. I’m always here to talk if you ever need anything!”** Misa reminded Light. 

“Okay, bye. Love you,” Light said in English.

**“Uno reverse! Bye~”** Misa answered back in English.

*****

“Ryuzaki, what is an ‘uno reverse’?” Matsuda asked.

Matsuda had found Raye on the trail and managed to half drag him back to the car where Watari diagnosed Penber with a concussion. L had sent Raye home to rest and officially removed Raye from the case until further notice. 

Currently, the task force was listening to the call between Light and Misa, but since the end of the call was in English, Ryuzaki was debating whether or not to explain to the task force the history of “Uno”.

Ryuzaki decided to ignore Matsuda’s question.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, but...where are they meeting?” L was about to bang his head on the counter again before he refrained. He’d find out tonight because of the location tracker on Light’s phone.

L just needed to wait.

L has since doubted his theory that the place Light and Misa were meeting was a murder spot since Light and Misa were now meeting at 4:00 instead of 6:00, which made it less likely that they would actually kill anyone in broad daylight, no matter how secret their spot was. 

L decided he may as well make use of the time to look into the death of Yamamoto. He pulled up the old case file and found the name Hosei Yamamoto. He clicked on the name.

Name : Hosie Yamamoto

Date of birth: 25/05/2000

Date of death:17/02/2014

Time of death: 23:47

Cause of death: Puncture of left lung- suffocation

Notes: Final victim of Ikuo Sano. Yamamoto contacted the police immediately when he was stalked by Sano in an alleyway by To-oh University. Police arrived 5 minutes later to find Yamamoto stabbed 17 times. Yamamoto died in the hospital less than 10 minutes later. Sano was apprehended 3 days after Yamamoto’s death. Transcript of police call attached.

L sighed deeply. This...was not what he had expected. It was disturbing, sure, but nothing he hadn’t seen before. Something was wrong, though. L felt like it was too easy; too justifiable of a reason for Light to quit solving cases.

There had to be something else. Something he was missing.

“Ryuzaki, I think Light moved. It looks like he’s headed towards Shinrinyoku Park,” Matsuda said.

L sighed deeply before he received a text on his phone. 

L glanced at the message and smiled.

“Watari? Prepare the car,” L ordered.

“Okay sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps!
> 
> Thank you for reading! ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> Any questions? Anything I should clarify? Any spelling errors? Please tell me, I love all the feedback!


	7. English

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps! So, here’s the next chapter hehe :3 
> 
> I have some notes at the end, but until you get there, please enjoy!  
> :D

“I am.”

“Yes.”

“You are.”

“Yes.”

“He is.”

“Yes.”

There was a pause in the flow of words. 

“They is?” Misa tried.

“No,” Light said as he hit Misa on her head with the stick he was holding.

Light and Misa were practicing English pronouns at the river in Shinrinyoku Park, which was a few minutes away from where the stalker incident happened. 

It took about 10 minutes of begging, but Light managed to convince Mikami not to call the police after the stalker incident. Light agreed to turn on his location for the rest of the week so Mikami could track Light in case anything bad happened. Mikami had walked Light to Shinrinyoku before explaining to Misa everything that had happened. Mikami asked her to walk Light home.

Light didn’t argue. Mikami was like the brother that Light never had. Or sometimes, like the father Light wished he had.

Never mind that.

It was quiet at the river and no one was ever at the secluded part where Misa and Light were right now. Light had found the spot during one of his walks with Misa. Because of the private setting, it was an amazing study location. 

But it didn’t matter how good the study location was, Misa hated English. She had always hated English and she would always hate English until the end of time.

And so, Light needed to nag Misa about English so she wouldn’t have to repeat a grade.

“They  _ are _ ,” Light emphasized.

“But if ‘you are’, why is it ‘they are’?” Misa asked in mostly Japanese.

“Because English is a melting pot of, like, 20 languages. Do it again,” Light demanded in Japanese.

Misa sighed deeply.

“I am,” she stated.

“Yes,” Light answered.

“You are.”

“Yes.”

“He is.”

“Yes.”

“They are.”

“Yes.”

“We are.”

“Yes.”

“It are.”

Light hit Misa with the stick again.

“Heeeyyy, I’m trying here. Why do you have to hit me?” Misa whined, reverting to Japanese.

“I read an article recently that talked about the benefits of physical pain to incorrect answers. If you get hurt, you’re less likely to make the same mistake twice. Also, it’s ‘it is’ not ‘it are’,” Light explained.

“Ugggghhhhh, I is stupid,” Misa said in English, purposely incorrect. 

“Misa, you aren’t stupid, you’re learning,” Light corrected. 

Misa sighed as she wondered to one of the trees and broke off a stick the same size as Light’s stick.

“I’ll show you physical pain,” Misa charged Light with her branch-become-sword. Light defended himself with his branch. She attempted to strike him again, which he counterattacked, avoiding her stick, and hitting her in the legs.

She stumbled, but strategically hit Light in the ankles, sending him tumbling to the floor. He managed to catch himself before actually touching the ground. 

“Misa, I-“

“AAAHHHH,” she gave a battle cry and charged Light. He blocked her attack. 

Light put his foot out, which resulted in Misa tripping over it and falling, but Light caught her before she could hit the ground.

The ground was disgusting. 

Light smirked triumphantly at the fact that Misa dropped her stick, “Now back to pronouns.”

“Oh, come on! Can’t we do anything else!” Misa begged.

“You’re the one that wanted help,” Light pointed out.

“Ugh, I know, but I didn’t mean like this,” Misa complained.

“So, you wanted me to do your work for you?” Light teased.  


  
At the beginning of their friendship, Misa had pleaded so many times for Light to do her homework or give her answers, but Light never relented. 

Misa ignored his question, opting to change the subject, “Let’s talk about something else. Oh, like the LA case thingy you were looking at!”

Light stiffened at the mention of the recent development in his project. It was very dangerous information that Light had trusted Misa with, and Misa hadn’t told a single soul about Light’s investigation into L.

The LA case was one of the most recent developments in Light’s investigation. The murder case was one of the small inconsistencies that Light was lucky enough to catch. The weird culprit, the strange circumstances, and involvement of L all struck Light as...well,  _ odd _ . Light never found what connections (if there were any connections in the first place) BB had to L. Light didn’t even know BB’s real name. In all the files Light had looked at, the culprit was only ever referred to as BB. 

Light was sure he was at a dead-end, but still collected as much information on it as possible, even considering the possibility that one of the FBI agents involved in the case could’ve been L.

Light sighed. He was getting stressed just thinking about the stacks of paper and hours poured into work, only for it to have amounted to nothing. 

Misa looked at Light, worried. Light knew she would always be there to listen to him rant his frustrations, but right now, he didn’t want to think about it. Instead, Light smiled. “Misa, I know you’re not actually interested in that stuff. Just like how I’m not interested in listening to you talk about your ’Plant Children’,” Light decided to take a jab at her. 

“Light, you got it all wrong! I’m very interested in the BD killings and Midari Morita! And you love my succulents! They have character,” Misa huffed with passion.

Light moved close to Misa and spoke in a hushed voice, “Misa, it’s the BB killings and Naomi Misora. I figured that out a while ago and we probably shouldn’t talk about it because I didn’t exactly find that information...legally,” Light whispered in fear of people walking by. Paranoia, sure, but said paranoia was wise concerning information that could have Light arrested. “Anyway, back to pronouns,” Light insisted. 

“Noooo,” Misa whined as she answered a text in her phone, “Far entrance...to...ahead...left,” Misa mumbled a few random words before hitting send.

Light and Misa went back to bickering.

*****

“I am,” Misa sighed in defeat after a few minutes. 

“Yes,” Light said. 

“You are.”

“Yes.”

A smile spread across Misa’s face.

“He is...here,” she said as she pointed to something in the distance.

Light turned around to find none other than Ryuzaki standing there.

“Hello,” Ryuzaki greeted simply.

“Hiiii~~” Misa smiled.

“Uh, hey, Ryuzaki,” Light squinted. How did Ryuzaki find this place? It was so off-trail... So how-

Light shot a look at Misa.

“So, Misa,” Light tilted his head and whispered, “why didn’t you tell me you invited Ryuzaki?”

“Oh, I must’ve forgotten!” Misa tried to lie. It was somewhat believable because Misa could be an airhead sometimes, but Light saw right through her act.

She was trying to set Light up with Ryuzaki. Light didn’t know whether to praise her or attack her with his stick.

“Well, welcome to the hidden cemetery, Ryuzaki!” Misa gestured to the rest of the river area.

“Thank you. It’s pretty, so I have to wonder why you call it a cemetery,” Ryuzaki prodded as he slid his thumb into his mouth to chew on it.

“This is actually a part of the river bed,” Misa pointed to the floor with her stick, “and since it is, there’s a ton of dead fish. We found that out a while ago when it rained. It was gross.” Misa made a face. 

Light began to dig into the floor with his stick. He managed to find a half decomposed fish in less than two minutes. 

He stabbed the fish and brought the fish to the surface.

“Eeewww,” Misa backed away from it.

“Hmm, that is interesting,” Ryuzaki commented.

Light brought the fish closer to Misa.

“All of the pronouns. Now. Or else,” Light stated.

“But-“

“No ‘but’s Misa.  _ Now _ ,” Light brought the fish mere inches from Misa’s face.

“Aaahhhh! I am you are he is we are they are it is y’all or you guys are! There! Get it away from meeee!” She squealed.

“See. Effective teaching method,” Light smiled. He turned back to Ryuzaki, “so, Misa invited you to the middle of nowhere and you said ‘yes’? You must really trust her.”

“Oh, I don’t. In fact, the text she sent was so ominous, I thought for sure I was going to be a human sacrifice or something,” Ryuzaki pulled out his phone to show the text from Misa.

**MA: Shinrinyoku Park. The purple trail. 100 meters from the bathroom, there is a smaller trail. Follow it. Take a left at the fork.**

**Be there.**

**MA: Or else.**

“Misa, holy shit,” Light looked at her and couldn’t help but laugh. He looked back at Ryuzaki, “and you still showed up? Why? Are you crazy?”

“Well, I figured if I died, at least it’d be a cool way to go out,” Ryuzaki gave a small smile. 

Light snickered.

“All the messages I get from Misa are like this,” Light pulled out his phone to show Ryuzaki.

**MA: hi light~ are you free tonight? i need help with math 🥺 👉👈**

**MA: i can’t even do fractions- why am i in honors calc 😭**

**MA: send help 😚**

“Wow, Misa must really hate me. She even used uppercase letters in her text to me,” Ryuzaki saddened. Light couldn’t tell if it was for show or if Ryuzaki was actually upset about that.

“Aw~ I don’t hate you! In fact, I like you enough to find you suitable for our sacrifice! You should feel honored,” Misa smiled creepily.

“Indeed, I am. Shall we begin?” Ryuzaki dead panned.

They both burst out laughing, leaving Light somewhat confused, but relieved that they were getting along.

Misa raised her phone and analyzed the screen, even though her phone didn’t make a sound.

She was faking getting a notification.

“Sorry guys, gotta go, early rehearsal. Ryuzaki, you can walk Light home, right? He had an unfortunate encounter with a stalker today and I’m sure Light would love to tell you the story. Bye~” Misa turned and left.

Light was going to kill Misa tomorrow. Not only did she drag Light out here to study before leaving abruptly, she simultaneously tried to set Light up with a guy, who, mind you, Light didn’t even say he liked. Well...he never said he liked Ryuzaki, but...

There was a beat of silence between Light and Ryuzaki.

“A stalker?” Ryuzaki probed.

“Aha, yeah. That story,” Light cringed as he began to explain the story to Ryuzaki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Welcome to the end of the chapter <3
> 
> Plot relevant point: L did not hear the convo between Light and Misa about the murder case. He wasn’t at the river yet. I tried to make that as clear as possible, but I felt like that needed clarifying
> 
> Anyway, thank y’all SO MUCH FOR THE POSITIVE FEEBACK!!!! At the time im writing this, I’m almost at 200 kudos which...wow 😳 it makes me so happy that you guys like my work and I love writing this fic so much!!!
> 
> Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> Also, the comments are always so nice, omg thank you 🤧
> 
> Ps, I changed my username cuz I like this one better :)


	8. Drama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for all the love on my last chapter!
> 
> You guys always make it so easy to write when you leave kudos and comments ❤️
> 
> Thank you!!!

Now that L thought about it, Raye _did_ sound like a stalker.

L and Light were on the trail headed towards the exit of the park. 

Light had explained his story about his stalker with such passion, it made L feel as though he was there. 

Light had talked about his walk on the streets being typical, which was contrasted by Light’s underlying anxiety about being followed. As he spoke, Light’s face expressed the horror of the situation, which was followed by the look of determination when Light explained his plan to stop his stalker.

L watched intently at the earnest emotion that laid just underneath the surface of Light’s face. L was entranced by Light.

Light explained how he knocked out Raye Penber. L’s eyebrows went up in surprise when Light said he managed to knock Raye out with a textbook. L mentally applauded Light’s resourcefulness.

“And the thing is, I saw him follow Misa and me home for the last week. I didn’t think much of it until today when he followed me into the woods. I think he’s dangerous,” Light said.

That almost made L stumble. Light had not only recognized Raye was following him home today; Light had realized Raye was following him home  _ everyday. _

Light analyzed L’s face. “You probably think I’m crazy,” Light mumbled. 

Light looked away and scratched the back of his neck as he bit his lip.

L couldn’t help but smile at that, and soon found himself trying to engrave Light’s nervous expression into his retinas.

Wait, what?

Nevermind that. 

“I believe what you say, Light. Although, if you knocked him out like that, I doubt he’ll bother you anymore,” L said.

“Ha, I hope so,” Light said, but his face showed he didn’t believe it.

L realized that Light obviously wouldn’t know that Raye Penber was just doing his job as an FBI agent, so it would also be impossible for Light to know that Raye Penber had been sent home from his job until he healed from his concussion.

“Well, if you want, I could walk you home from now on,” L offered. It was the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on Light.

Light considered it before asking, “Don’t you leave school early?”

“Yes, but I’d have no issue with waiting in the library until you’re done with your classes. It’s my offer, Light. I like spending time with you,” L said, surprised at how honestly he was speaking. He knew it was dangerous to be this open with Light, but he couldn't help it. There was something about Light that L wanted to confide in.

Light’s expression was grateful. “Well then, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d really like that Ryuzaki,” Light smiled, “I like spending time with you too.”

L’s heart sped up to an impossibly fast rate. 

“Okay, it's settled then. But I assume you’ve had stalkers before, although, most of them were probably girls from our school,” L commented.

The rational part of L’s brain was begging L to get back to investigating Light and his knowledge of Raye Penber, but L wanted to know more about Light.

For the case. Obviously.

“Um, why would you say that?” Light narrowed his eyes at L. 

“I don’t think I have to list all the reasons why girls would like you, Light,” In all honesty, L didn’t think he could survive that without having a heart attack out of embarrassment. “You’ve probably spawned yourself a fan club. I bet it’s called ‘Our Hearts were Broken by Light Yagami’. I’m sure it has many members,” L joked, which meant that L deadpanned and hoped Light would catch on. 

L snickered, “Did you just assume I’m a player?” Light asked, half-serious.

“Am I wrong in my accusations?” L asked.

“Very, actually,” Light said, “I’ve never dated anyone.”

“...You’re joking,” L responded. There was no way the facade of perfection that Light put up was complete  _ without _ an equally as perfect girlfriend. 

“No, I’m dead serious,” Light laughed, but his words were genuine, “what about you? Do you have someone waiting for you back home?” Light asked. 

“No, obviously,” L said.

“What do you mean ‘obviously’?” Light asked, confused.

“Well, I’m not like you. I’m not...um...conventionally attractive,” L explained.

Light looked at L from head to toe. Light tilted his head in thought.

“You’re right. You aren’t conventionally attractive,” Light said. L knew that was true already, so Light’s words did not affect him. “You’re unconventionally attractive,” Light finished speaking and smirked

L’s heart was no longer functioning and his brain was fried. L felt heat rise in his face and ended up covering his face with his hands.

“Ah, thank you,” L said.

There were a few moments of silence where L recovered from Light’s compliment, but the kind words still rang in L’s ears.

“So, midterms are coming up soon and people typically find study partners now. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to be mine since we share a lot of our classes,” Light said.

L understood what Light was asking, but L’s brain kept singling out the words ‘be mine’.

“Sure, I’d love to,” L answered, eventually.

They rounded the corner to Light’s house.

“Okay, thanks. See you later, Ryuzaki,” Light said.

“Goodbye Light,” Ryuzaki didn’t turn to leave until Light’s front door was closed.

_ ‘“Unconventionally attractive”. Damn, what are you doing to me, Light Yagami?’ _

*****

_ ‘He said yes.’ _

Light pumped his fist. Success!

*****

L’s eyes strained as he stared at his phone.

_ ‘It’s just a text. Don’t overthink it. It’s just a text. Just send it.’ _

L was less than a centimeter away from pressing send before he chickened out and deleted the message.

He’d been trying to type the message up for over twenty minutes and considered giving up.

Funny. L had faced off with members of the Mafia, had been held at gunpoint multiple times, but for some reason, texting this seventeen-year-old was going to be the death of L.

He sighed and hit send.

**RR: Hey Light, I was wondering what you had in mind for a schedule as to when we’d meet up to study.**

L immediately cringed. He sounded like a robot. He willed himself to calm down. This was just a text message.

Light responded.

**LY: Oh, I was thinking after school, maybe once or twice a week.**

**RR: How would Mondays and Thursdays work?**

**LY: Sounds good to me, but my schedule might change. It should be okay though.**

**RR: Okay, I have a pretty flexible schedule, so any day would be fine. Would Monday and Thursday work this week?**

**LY: Sure, sounds great. See you on Monday at school. Good night :)**

L’s breath caught in his throat. He decided he may as well use the joke that had been plaguing his mind. 

**RR: 🌃💡**

There were a few seconds where L didn’t receive any texts and he wondered if Light had gone to sleep. 

**LY: Ryuzaki, if you ever make that joke again, I’ll knock you out with my English textbook 🙃**

**LY: night**

L smiled at his phone.

Watari wheeled in a cart of sweets. 

“Ryuzaki, I see you’ve organized for part of the week, but may I ask who will watch Light on Saturdays and Sundays? Tomorrow is Saturday and I believe most teenagers leave their houses on those days,” Watari pointed out. 

“I have someone in mind, Watari,” L had already contacted the agent who was going to watch Light. 

Well, technically, the agent contacted L first. 

“Okay, I see,” Watari set down the plate of cake in front of L, “Ryuzaki, you seem quite interested in Light Yagami. It may be best for you to consider your course of action if your relationship with him were to develop.”

L looked at Watari, trying to figure out what exactly he meant by ’develop’. As in...close friends, right? 

Right?

“Watari, I assure you, no matter what direction my relationship with Light takes, I will remain professional throughout my time here,” L said automatically, but L didn’t know how far his professionalism could go. L was a spy, sure, but that didn’t mean he lied about everything. After all, Light was a good friend so far. 

But what would L do if Light...wanted or did something...more…like-

L cut off his train of thought.

Watari seemed to notice and smiled knowingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps!
> 
> Thanks for reading my new chapter 🥺
> 
> Hope you liked it! 🥳🥳🥳


	9. Finance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m back!
> 
> So, I’m really sorry about missing my update on Wednesday!!! I got a sick and I’m a huge baby when it comes to getting colds :/
> 
> But I’m back! Thank you guys so much for your support!!!
> 
> I will change my update schedule to only Sundays. If you’re interested in why, I’ll talk about it in the end notes.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was 1:00 am on a Saturday and L was walking to the location sent to him in a text message. 

L huffed and the cool air caused his breath to become visible. He quickened his pace as he walked down the black roads. He kept his head down. 

His nose and cheeks were tinged red and L sunk further into his scarf to protect his face from the air. 

L finally made it to the alleyway and waited.

A few freezing minutes went by. 

A female figure emerged from around the corner. 

“Hey.”

L looked at her. He didn’t recognize her from school, but he read enough reports about her to know she was a sixteen year old in the same school district as the school L went to. Her name was Au Hamasaki. Her hair was bleached, a faint blue shown through making it look a strange shade of green. 

L knew Au had barely passing grades. She had many half brothers and sisters. No father. Drug dealing was common in her family, as both her brother and father were involved in trafficking. 

She was the one who texted L the information he needed to get involved in dealings. 

There was no dialogue between them as she slid a black messenger bag off of her shoulder and swiftly passed it to L. She continued to walk straight ahead and L turned to walk in the opposite direction. 

He barely resisted the urge to peek inside the messenger bag.

The train station was closed, so L had to walk.

This whole situation was something L had seen a multitude of times. He had sent thousands of undercover officers to do dealings in the past, everything from drugs to organs. This, though, was the first time L partook in the drug dealing himself. 

It was easier than he thought it would be. 

First, L made an anonymous profile on some of the most popular social media apps. He only used his accounts for stalking and contacting possible dealers. Then, he did some digging through police files and found that Au was the perfect candidate to contact. 

Finally, L found Au’s social media and established he’d be interested in helping her deal. Since there weren’t many people drug dealing since the Tsuki killings started, L easily persuaded her into letting her original dealer know about him. After a few days of waiting, L managed to get his first “job” as a trafficker. 

_ ‘I wonder what Light would say...wait, no, why am I thinking about that?’  _

Though, L couldn’t help but imagine. Would Light be disappointed? Disgusted? Worried? Would Light make L stop? Would Light even care at all?

It’s not like Light would know about L’s dealings...for now. L may tell Light later to see his reaction. 

L shook the thoughts from his head and continued walking. 

After 20 minutes, L rounded the final corner to the abandoned warehouse where the transaction would take place. 

L pried open the door. 

“You must be Ryuzaki?” A teen asked. L recognized this one as Kin Hagiwara. He was doing decently well in school but came from a poor family with a single mother. 

“Yes.”

“Okay, give me the bag,” Kin said, holding out a wad of cash.

L handed over the bag as he grabbed the cash. Kin took the clear bags of white powder from the messenger bag before handing the messenger bag back to Ryuzaki. 

“Thanks,” L said lamely before putting the cash in the now-empty messenger bag.

Kin paused. He looked up at L, confused. Kin must have realized how new to drug dealing L was. “Pleasure doing business with you,” Kin smirked. 

L left the warehouse, now heading towards his final destination. 

After 10 minutes of walking, he found the place he was supposed to be. 

A nearby park that was now vacant. 

“Ey, you must got the money,” A man spoke. He was with a group of guys around the same age. L identified this man as Shion Tajima, a 24-year-old mechanic. 

“Yes, I do,” Ryuzaki answered. 

“Hm, takes guts to deal nowadays, with all the stuff goin’ on. ‘Name’s Eichi.” Shion lied. L wasn’t surprised. “You are?”

“I’m Ryuzaki.” 

“Hmm, okay. Anyway, let’s have a look,” Eichi grabbed the messenger bag. He pulled the money out and counted it. His eyes narrowed for a moment. “Looks good to me. Here,” Eichi handed L a small amount of money. It was a small sum compared to the larger stack of money, but it wasn’t too bad considering L only had to walk for about an hour to earn it. 

“Thanks,” L said in response. 

“Heh, nice meeting ya kid,” Eichi replied. 

L walked (again) for about 15 minutes before calling Watari to pick him up. 

And so was the beginning of L’s mission as a drug trafficker. 

*****

It was an average Saturday for Light as he hopped out of bed. Light got ready for the day, went downstairs to have breakfast, and sat down to eat with Sayu when a random thought flew across his mind. 

_ ‘Ryuzaki.’ _

One word. All it took was one word, one thought, and Light was blushing and coughing. 

The simple thought of Ryuzaki turned Light’s day from average to amazing. The mere thought of talking to Ryuzaki was exhilarating. Light wanted to know everything about him, and it made Light even more intrigued when he realized that no matter how much he knew Ryuzaki, he’d never know everything. Ryuzaki was a mystery, an enigma. 

I’m so many ways, Ryuzaki was like L. Light didn’t think he’d ever  _ actually  _ figure out who L was, just like Light didn't think he'd ever figure out everything about Ryuzaki. They were both mysteries with no end, no finality. 

Ryuzaki was Light’s new case.

Light couldn't help but smirk at that. 

Sayu quirked her eyebrows in confusion at Light’s sudden change in demeanor. 

“Uh, Light? Are you okay?” She asked

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Light said. 

“Okay...” Sayu responded distrustingly, “Have fun on your walk.” 

Light went on a walk every Saturday. Walking helped clear Light’s mind. Far too often, Light could feel his brain get cluttered. Light would either go on a walk or continue working on L’s profile. 

Both seemed to calm him. 

Light was out of his house with a few minutes of eating. He kept his pace steady and allowed his mind to drift. 

A few days until the Tsuki killings continued. A few days until someone was dead. 

Light took a deep breath. Light took a sudden left. Usually, Light continued straight down the road, but something in his gut compelled him to diverge from his path. 

Light walked for a few moments, not paying attention to where he was headed when he suddenly grew pale. 

He didn’t want to be here. Why- why did he come here in the first place?

Natsukashii Cemetery. 

How did Light get here? When did the day go from good to awful? Why-

Light was deciding between two courses of action. Push forward into the cemetery, or turn and go back. 

Continue forward or turn around. 

Before Light could consider it further, he turned to walk away. 

Light walked for a few minutes, his head in the clouds. He didn’t know where he was going. He was too distracted, trying to keep the memories from rising to the surface. Old conversations, days, words, even moments hurt. Inside jokes, late-night talks, texts, phone calls, everything tied back to one person. 

And Light was the reason that person was gone. 

Dead. 

Light could feel the pit form in his stomach.

Everything was fine a few moments ago. When Light was distracted or daydreaming, everything seemed better. When Light forgot about...

Light sucked in a breath. 

Everything was deteriorating. 

Light couldn’t even think of-of

Him. 

Light refused to remember Him. Even thinking his name sent Light into a panic. No one had mentioned him in years because of Light’s reactions. 

Light wanted to go home. Or go to Misa. Or Mikami. 

Anyone. 

Light instead made his way to the local cafe to order some coffee. 

He refused to have a panic attack in the middle of the street. He refused. He was too socially aware to even consider allowing that to happen.

No, Light was going to keep everything inside.

Eventually, Light would die, and then all of his emotions would be released into oblivion. But for another 70 years, Light wasn’t going to break down. 

Light stepped inside the coffee shop and waited in line. He looked at the other people waiting. Two girls were having an upbeat conversation. A child was bugging her mom for sweets. An older man, seemingly out for a run coffee, had a phone pressed to his ear and was mentioning something about grandchildren. 

Everyone seemed so content. So happy.

Light sighed. 

The bells on the door of the cafe chimed as someone walked in. Light looked back in curiosity. 

His eyes widened. 

There stood the woman he’s seen on countless case files. Same eyes, same hair, same face. The same woman that was in the hundreds of photos Light spent hours analyzing. The woman, that at one point, Light thought could’ve been L. 

Naomi Misora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii!!!! Thank you so much for reading my story!!!
> 
> So
> 
> From here on out, I will update every Sunday. That will be the only day I will update per week. 
> 
> I realized that as this story goes on, it gets more and more complicated and I need the extra time to refine or redo chapters. I want this story to be as good as possible!!
> 
> Thank you so much for your support! You guys are always so nice and understanding! ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> (Feel free to point out any spelling errors- I love the help)


	10. Cognitive Science

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *shows up more than a week late* “sup?”
> 
> People who read my fic: “Wha-“
> 
> Me: *throws chapter* *vanishes*
> 
> Hi! Did you think this fic was dead? I hope not 👀
> 
> Sorry for the super late chapter. And I’m really sorry I keep changing my schedule. Rather than say what I have as a definite schedule, I’m just going to try to update once a week. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for the love and comments like-❤️❤️❤️❤️
> 
> I feel so blessed. I don’t even deserve you guys ❤️❤️❤️

“He’s in a coffee shop now,” Naomi spoke from her end of the line. 

L listened in as Naomi went up to order. 

L looked at the tracked path on Light’s phone and could see what Naomi was referencing earlier when she said Light’s route was “strange”.

Light had walked from his house to the opening of a cemetery, then turned around and went to a coffee shop. Why go to the cemetery and stop before you get inside?

Suspicious...

There was some shuffling from the other end of the line before L heard Naomi gasp.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Please, let me buy you a new drink,” came a deep voice from the other end. 

_ ‘Light. What are you planning?’ _ L sunk his teeth into his thumb. 

“Naomi, accept the offer and try to engage in conversation with the suspect. Take your earpiece out. Fill me in when you return Naomi,” L ordered.

*****

Perfect. 

Exactly as planned. 

Light “accidentally” bumped into Naomi after her order and her coffee spilled on the floor. A quick apology and an offer to buy her a new drink was all Light needed to start a conversation with her. 

“Please, I’m sorry, I’ll buy you a new drink,” Light offered again. The staff of the cafe hurried out and was now cleaning the mess. 

“Um, sure. Okay,” she answered. 

Light stood in line nervously. It would be a make or break moment. Eventually, he got to the drink and passed it to Naomi. 

“Sorry again,” Light said, sliding out a chair from a small table. 

“Thank you. Please, sit,” Naomi gestured to the chair in front of her. 

“Huh? Oh, okay,” Light mentally cheered. Progress!

There was a moment when Naomi just stared at Light. Light stared back with a polite smile.

“What’s your name?” Light asked, eventually. 

“Shoko Maki,” she lied, “And you are?” 

“Light Yagami. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Maki.”

“Likewise.”

Light took a deep breath. It was time to perform. Light smiled politely again. 

“So, you’re a student?” Naomi asked.

“Yeah, I am. I’m a Senior,” Light crossed his legs. He tilted his head towards her purse, “I like your bag by the way.

Naomi smiled. 

_ ‘That’s it. See? I’m just a normal kid. Really. I’m a nice, normal kid who would never kill anyone. So, why are you here? _ ’ Light narrowed his eyes. 

“Thank you,” she sipped her drink. 

“So, what do you work as?” Light asked. Naomi met his gaze.

“I’m an officer.”

Light nodded. It was an answer so close to the truth, yet so misleading

There was a long stretch of silence where both Light and Naomi sipped their drinks. The tension was thick but in a cognitively exhausting way. Light could feel his brain rake through the evidence trying to figure out what’s going on.

_ ‘What does she know? How much does she know? How much does she know I know? How much does she know I know what she knows? How-‘ _

Light spotted a ring on Naomi’s hand. 

“You’re married?” Light pointed to the ring. He was struggling to find a normal conversation. 

“Oh, no, I’m not married yet, but I’m engaged. I met my fiancé in the states, actually. He proposed about 6 months ago,” Naomi stayed vague. 

“When’s the wedding?” Light leaned forward in feigned excitement. 

“Less than a month away, actually,” Naomi took another sip of her coffee. 

“Have you picked out a dress?” Light asked. Now he was sounding like Misa. 

Which was fine. Change in tactic: Light needed to act as a bit of an airhead. No one suspects an airhead.

The weirdest thing was that Light was innocent. He knew he was innocent. But if he wanted to convince anyone else, it was going to take a whole new persona. Light couldn't act like the genius, aloof guy who's always bored. No, Light needed to be the gullible and friendly highschool student.

“Um, not yet,” Naomi said. 

“What? The wedding’s in less than a month!” Light gasped like they did in those cheesy telenovelas. 

Naomi laughed and pulled her hair back nervously.

“I know! I’m such a procrastinator,” Naomi sighed.

“Haha, yeah, me too,” Light comforted. 

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. 

“You know, my fiancé came with me to help with the wedding preparations. It had been years since I’ve been back home, so you can imagine how disturbing it was to come home to a murder mystery,” Naomi explained. 

“It’s crazy, isn’t it? Things are usually so quiet around here...” 

“It must be really scary. Especially for a high school student like you.”

Light sighed, his mask starting to break. He may as well draw from real-life sources.

“Yeah...I hate it. I hate having to constantly watch my back. In fact, can I tell you a bit of a secret?” Light leaned forward. Maybe if Light showed her a bit of trust, she’d reflect it. Naomi nodded, eyes shimmering with curiosity, “I was being followed on my way home by this random man.”

Naomi’s eyes widened, “Oh, that’s horrible. Someone following you around...I don’t even know what’d I’d do.”

Light processed her words. His mind had been reeling at this point. Something clicked. 

A man had followed Light home from school. Light had run into Naomi Misora less than a week after Light knocked that man out. What were the chances that a mysterious man would follow Light around and less than a week later Light would run into an FBI agent? Light never reported the incident to the police, so...

Wait-

Was the man that was following Light a-

...Shit.

The man that followed Light home from school was probably an FBI agent like Naomi was. 

Now that the man was knocked out, Naomi had to take the job of following Light.

So Naomi was working with the FBI and the FBI was following Light around. 

Why would the FBI follow around Light? Well, there was only one relevant reason Light could think of. 

Light was a suspect in the Tsuki case. 

This was all speculation, of course; all leaps of faith and a bit of a stretch, but they made sense. 

Light took a deep breath as he tried not to let his discoveries show on his face. He kept everything as still as possible. 

“Yeah, it was pretty scary,” Light said. He was starting to run out of dialogue. 

“Did you report it to the police?” Naomi asked.

“No. I just ran and never saw that man again. I think if I get followed again, I will report it to the police. Or carry around pepper spray. Who knows,” Light sighed. 

“Well, if you ever need anything, you can call me,” Naomi started writing something down on the napkin.

“Wha-“

“I work with law enforcement. If you ever need help, call me. You seem like a nice kid, Light, ” Naomi smiled as she handed Light the napkin.

“...thank you. Really, thank you so much, Miss Maki,” Light accepted the napkin and quickly put the phone number into his contact list.

“Well, that was a nice conversation, but I think it’s time for me to head back to the station. Bye,” she stood up and left the cafe. 

Light sighed and stared down at his phone. 

If he ever needed anything...

He had at least one person on his side. 

*****

“Ryuzaki.”

“Naomi. Welcome back,” L greeted as Naomi entered headquarters, “how did it go?”

“It went well enough. Nothing too suspicious besides the slight deviation of his path,” Naomi informed, “The conversation was slow-moving. We talked a little bit about my engagement which I redirected to talking about the case. Light mentioned that he was followed home. Other than that, he seems like a very normal kid.”

“Hmmm...okay. Naomi, follow me,” L stood and walked to a smaller room. He sat on a couch in front of a small table and gestured towards a chair across from him, “Please, take a seat.”

Naomi sat in the chair as Watari brought some tea. 

“Naomi, how did Light start the conversation with you?”

“He spilled my coffee on accident. Why do you ask?” Naomi questioned. 

L’s eyes widened. He nearly dropped his tea cup.

“Naomi, I believe we have a major issue. Your identity may be compromised.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading my fic ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> I appreciate all the love, really, thanks so much 
> 
> Sorry I haven’t updated in two weeks; I was really busy. But, the next few weeks should be a lot better!!! So, keep an eye out for regular updates ❤️
> 
> Just wanna leave you guys with the note that I will finish this fic eventually. I always like to finish what I start ❤️❤️❤️


	11. Statistics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’m back with a new chapter for y’all! So, I’m really excited for the next couple of chapters because the plot thickens 👀
> 
> You'll see, hehe ❤️
> 
> (Also, I forgot to ask last time, but do you guys like when I respond to your comments? I usually do it because I like you guys to know I read and appreciate every single comment, but I don’t wanna annoy anyone because a lot of times I kinda say redundant things...)
> 
> So here we go, Light and his paranoia, part 2

Light almost sprinted home. Almost.

But then he remembered. 

Light walked home at a normal pace. In contrast, his mind was absolutely racing.

_ ‘Oh my God, I’m going to be arrested. I’m so stupid! They’re going to find my files on L, and more importantly, my files including the FBI.  _

_ ‘I’m screwed. I’m going to spend the rest of my life in prison. What if the FBI just capture me and kill me in silence? Can they do that?  _

_ ‘I should call Misa or Mikami- wait, they’ve probably bugged my phone. They’ve probably gotten into the computer too. _

_ ’What if they found the police files? What if I’m convicted of murders I didn’t commit? _

_ ‘What’s Misa going to say? She might accidentally convict herself too while trying to defend me. What would Dad say? He would be so disappointed. Oh no, Sayu...’ _

Light had somehow made it to the front of his house. He put his hands on his knees and took a deep breath before he passed out. 

Light focused on his breathing as he entered his house. He shakily stepped into the kitchen where he was greeted by his mom. 

“Hi Light, how was your walk?” Sachiko asked as he seasoned the chicken for dinner. 

“Um...it was good,” Light smiled unsurely. 

Sachiko didn’t seem to notice.

“Okay, well, remember you’re father is going to be home for dinner tonight. Make sure you're home tonight.t and not running around with your friends.”

“Okay, thanks Mom,” Light quickly brushed her off and ran up the stairs to his room. 

_ ‘Okay, okay, okay, okay... I can’t be stupid about this. First things first, did they get to my files- No! Before that, I need to make sure I’m not being watched.’ _

Light thanked his paranoia for once. 

Ever since Light’s final case, he had placed a small security measurement to see if anyone went through his things.

Light quickly walked to his bookshelf. He slowly removed one of the architecture books from the shelf. He listened for a pin to drop and sighed in relief when he heard the barely audible *click*.

Light had put a small sewing needle behind one of his architecture books. He placed the needle vertically and made sure it was stuck between the book and the wall of the bookshelf. If the police or FBI were to look through Light’s room, there was a high chance they would’ve checked all of the books on the shelf for evidence. If someone removed the architecture book that was holding up the pin, the pin would fall horizontally. It wouldn’t be noticeable to anyone who wasn’t aware of the pin’s existence. 

Since Light heard the pin fall, he knew that no one had messed with his books. 

_ ‘Well, the FBI probably did not go through my room, which means there are probably no cameras. Still...I could always check...’ _

Light discretely looked over his bookshelves and found no signs of cameras. His room was mostly bare, so after a few minutes of looking in electrical sockets and shelves, Light was sure he was not being monitored by cameras or listening devices. 

Light let out the smallest sigh of relief before turning to his computer.

He glared at it. 

Light carefully sat down at his desk, examining the computer for any external malware that could record his device while in use.

Nothing. 

Light signed into hid device and tediously looked through the programming for external links or bugs. 

Nothing. 

_ ‘No cameras, no listening devices, no computer hacking,...they didn’t go through my room.  _

_ ’Wait, what was the thing I was thinking about earlier? Hm... _

_ ’My phone!’ _

Light pulled out his phone and was about to connect it to the computer. 

He hesitated. 

While Light would’ve loved nothing more than to remove the theoretical bug from his phone, what if the bug alerted the FBI of its removal? It would be suspicious.

So, Light set his phone down and moved across the room. 

He locked the door. 

Light stood on his bed and slowly untwisted the fire alarm on the ceiling. The fire alarm covering had about enough space to hide a matchbox. 

Nestled in the fire alarm was a small black flash drive. 

There it was. 

The incriminating evidence the FBI never reached. 

The flash drive held everything. Hundreds of photos of crime scenes, FBI investigations, secret files, a way to access the FBI database, suspicious exchanges of land, money, or materials. Anything that could be seen as evidence that pointed to L’s identity. 

Light knew the flash drive contained enough illegal information to have Light locked up for good. 

But that’s why Light was so cautious. The flash drive was specially designed. 

If someone were to plug in the flash drive normally, they would only find short diary entries written by Light when he was 14. 

Originally, that was all he used the flash drive for. A way to get his frustrations written out. 

Especially after his final case. 

But when Light started looking into the identity of L, he decided it would be better if he used his diary as a cover-up. The actual information was hidden deep within the codes of the flash drive. 

Light put the flash drive back in the fire alarm and secured the fire alarm to his ceiling. 

He was safe in his own room; he could finally relax. 

For now. 

Light itched to look more into L’s identity, but Light was no fool. Light would need to wait until the Tsuki case was over before he dared work on the L case. 

_ ‘I never get a break, do I? _ ’ Light sighed.

*****

“What do you mean my identity may be comprised? What’s going on?” Naomi asked. 

L didn’t pay any attention to her as he drowned in his own thoughts. 

_ ‘Light probably knows- no Light  _ **_definitely_ ** _ knows who Naomi is. He has to. Everything was too convenient to be coincidental. No doubt. So, Light knows who Naomi is. For sure. How? How would he know who she is? Even if he would've recognized her name, she’d given a fake one. She was discrete. How? How? How? _

_ ’Who knows Naomi’s identity? Besides me, there’s Raye, but Light wouldn't have interacted with Raye long enough to figure out about Naomi? Who else knew about Naomi Misora? Hmm...well...there was BB. But he's been locked up for months now. So, either Light miraculously knows who BB is, or... _

_ ’Light has ‘the eyes’? Would that even make sense?’ _

L fell out of his seat because of his frustration. 

_ ‘I’m just thinking in circles with no new conclusions.’ _

”Ryuzaki, what are you thinking?” Naomi asked, eyebrows creasing with concern. She paid no mind to L’s usual antics. 

L huffed on the floor before regaining composure and sitting on his chair. 

”Hmm, well, I've come up with four possible scenarios. Scenario one: everything that happened between you and Light is a coincidence. The possibility of this is...15%. Scenario two: Light came into contact with someone who knew your identity and extracted information from them. 10%. Scenario three: Light has obtained FBI information somehow and managed to know who you were specifically...20%. Scenario four: Light someone recognized your name and he is similar to Beyond Birthday in that they both have ’the eyes’....5%, ” L stirred his tea. 

”That leaves 50% left, ” Naomi pointed out. 

”Yes, I know. That 50% consists of the possibilities I'm currently unaware of, “ L explained. 

Naomi sighed and stared at the window thoughtfully, “If Light has...‘the eyes’...that would mean that Light knows your name. And if Light is as smart as you say, there’s a chance he knows you’re L.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” L chewed his thumb again, “Although, even if Light has ‘the eyes’, it still wouldn’t explain how he recognized the name Naomi Misora. It’s more likely Light recognized your face. He must have known your identity before entering the café, but  _ why _ and  _ how _ ?”

Both Naomi and L stared off into the distance, minds scavenging for answers. Eventually, Naomi checked her watch and sighed. 

“Well, either way, I blew my cover. I cannot go undercover to watch Light anymore. Considering both my husband and I have failed to keep an eye on Light, I think it’s best you do not send another agent after Light,” She stood up to leave.

“I won’t. Thank you, Naomi. Congratulations on your engagement by the way. I forgot to mention it earlier,” L said. Naomi smiled slightly.

“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodbye,” Naomi left the room. 

L was now alone with his thoughts. 

_ ‘Light...who the hell are you?’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks so much for reading my story and thank you for you comments! I really, really appreciate all of you guys! I couldn't do any of this without y'all!!!
> 
> I hope you like my story!
> 
> And you guys have been giving kudos, comments, and bookmarks, oh my! You guys give me so much motivation, so thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️❤️
> 
> Have a great day!


	12. Social Science

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So I’m back with another chapter :0
> 
> Thanks for all the support! I really can’t believe how far we’ve come in only 12 chapters! I’m so excited to continue writing ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> This chapter is going to explore the family dynamics between the Yagami household, especially the relationship between Light and Soichiro...so STRAP IN ❤️
> 
> On with the chapter ✨
> 
> TW ⚠️⚠️⚠️: Heteronormativity, Panic Attacks, Slight Internalized Homophobia

**“...and today’s most dire news, tomorrow is the beginning of the next moon cycle. The next Tsuki killing will presumably take place on that day, so we encourage everyone to stay inside. If you see any suspicious behavior call this number-“**

Light turned off the TV.

He breathed deeply. He wasn’t going to freak out, nope, not now, not today. Everything was going to be fine. He didn’t need to worry.

...right?

“Light, could you help set the table?” Sachiko asked.

“Sure, Mom,” Light mentally thanked her for the distraction. 

About twice a week, Soichiro would make it home early enough to have dinner with his family. Sometimes, when he was working in cases, Soichiro wouldn’t make it home for weeks on end. He would spend days at a time at the station. When Light worked on cases, he’d spend almost every day with his father, but since Light stopped, his relationship with his father has weakened.

Light shook the thought away.

Light set the table as his mother and Sayu finished making dinner. It was only recently that Sayu was allowed to help in the kitchen after “The Toaster Incident”. 

Yikes.

Ever since the said incident, Sayu was banned from using the toaster without supervision and wasn't allowed to do much in the kitchen for a few months. 

Light was lost in thought when he heard a click. 

The front door opened.

“Dad!” Sayu called as she hugged Soichiro. Soichiro was shocked initially but eventually hugged back. 

“Hi honey, welcome home,” Sachiko greeted her husband with a smile.

“Thank you,” Soichiro said. 

“Hey Dad,” Light said, plainly. 

There was a beat of awkward silence. Light wanted to leave the room out of frustration. Light didn’t know when it happened, but his relationship with his father was now awkward.

“Hello, Light,” Soichiro responded.

A few minutes later, everyone was sitting down at the table eating. Sayu was blabbing about her day and Sachiko was politely responding with “wow” and “that’s nice sweetie”. 

Sayu eventually ran out of things to talk about, thank goodness.

“So, Light,” Soichiro started to ask.

_ ‘Never mind, Sayu, please find something to talk about, _ ’ Light regretted his earlier thought. 

“How was school this week?” Soichiro asked.

_ ‘Oh, well remember that stalker incident I didn’t tell you about? Turns out it was an FBI agent that I physically assaulted. I met another agent today. Also, the FBI thinks I’m a serial killer. You know. The usual,’ _ Light thought, sighing deeply. 

“It was good,” he responded instead. 

Soichiro narrowed his gaze, “Really? Well, that’s good. Anything new? Any new friends?”

“Not really, no. Wait- actually, we have a foreign exchange student from England,” Light said.

He was sure he had talked about it last time Dad was home...wait...when was the last time they ate dinner as a family? 3 weeks? More? Wait- where has his dad been?

“What? I didn’t hear about that. What’s their name? What are they like?” Sayu asked.

“Well, his name is Ryuzaki, and he’s...interesting. He’s nice, but a little bit strange, so of course he and Misa get along pretty well,” Light answered.

“Was he the one that walked you home that one day? The one with the hair like-“ Sayu did hand motions above her head in exaggerated and abstract patterns.

“Yeah, that’s Ryuzaki,” Light smiled warmly. Sayu’s eyes widened before she sat back in her chair and smirked. Light narrowed his gaze at her. What was she thinking?

“Well, it’s nice to hear you’re making new friends,” Sachiko smiled, but it never reached her eyes. 

“Yeah, I am,” Light smiled back.

Soichiro gave Light concerned looks for the next couple of minutes as Sayu talked. Light thought for a moment that maybe Soichiro somehow knew about Light’s stalker, but immediately abandoned that train of thought since it was improbable. 

But then again...where had his dad been?

Sayu delved into politics after a while. It was always somewhat sad when Sayu did that because no one wanted to discuss things with her because of her age. Or maybe because she was a girl. Or both. It was unfair, really, so Light always made sure to take her seriously as they debated modern issues. Sachiko would smile politely and Soichiro would sit stone-faced as Light and Sayu discussed everything from taxes to workplace policies. 

The subject was shortly dropped, mostly out of boredom, since both Sayu and Light agreed on the point they were discussing.

There was about a minute of uncomfortable silence. 

“So, Light, since you’re a senior now, are you going to start thinking about getting a girlfriend?” Soichiro asked.

Ah. 

If it was socially acceptable, Light would’ve flipped the table. Since flipping tables was unfortunately frowned upon, Light settled for crossing his arms across his chest defensively. 

This was always a topic at dinner since Light entered his senior year. So, he answered as he always had for months:

“No.”

It was a simple answer to a simple question, but the few beats of silence that followed spoke volumes.

Light began to sweat. 

“But, Light, I’m sure there are so many kind, smart girls out there. Oh, what about that Amane girl?” Sachiko asked, smiling politely for the millionth time. 

Light was a mixture of nerves and wrath as he took a deep breath. 

Lord, how he wished he could flip the table.

Because ‘that Amane girl’ wasn’t some girl he was chasing for three years so they could date. ‘That Amane girl’ wasn’t some irrelevant, fleeting crush.

‘That Amane girl’ was Light's best friend, Misa Amane. She was the nicest, most supportive friend in the world, so for anyone to think that Light was chasing her just so he could date her was unacceptable.

And the number of times Light had to state that he and Misa weren’t dating, and would never date, was obnoxious. 

Light clenched his teeth before completely relaxing his face so he could pull off a fake smile.

Like mother, like son. 

“No, Misa and I aren’t dating,” Light smiled, tightly. 

“Oh, Light, there has to be some girl you’ve wanted to date,” Sachiko teased. But Light didn’t laugh or smile. 

He continued to sweat. A lot. 

His hands were shaking underneath the table and his heart was beating so rapidly in his chest he was afraid he pass out-

_ ‘It’s okay. Take a deep breath,’ _ Light told himself. He hadn’t been outed yet. His parents just thought he was shy. Okay. That’s okay.

“No, I haven’t given much thought to dating,” Light said nonchalantly. 

Lie. Light thought about it all the time. But just not dating girls. 

Sayu was eyeing him not-so-discreetly the whole time and Soichiro was hardly even present. 

This was a stressful waste of time. 

“Well, thanks for the dinner mom, it was delicious,” the chicken was dry and bland, but she didn’t need to know that, “but I have homework to do. I think I’m going to head to my room for the night.”

“Okay, Light. Good night,” Sachiko smiled. 

“Night Light! Hehe, get it? Nightlight?” Sayu laughed. 

Light had the inkling that Sayu and Ryuzaki would get along splendidly. 

Light looked at Soichiro. Neither of them said anything. Light turned and walked upstairs. 

He walked to his bed. 

Behind the closed doors of his bedroom, Light felt like crying. 

He didn’t, of course. He hadn’t in years. 

But the reminder that he didn’t have a father crushed his heart. 

_ ‘How pathetic. I should be grateful to even have a father in the first place. Who cares if Dad’s gone an awful lot of the time? Who cares if he’s absent even when he’s home? Who cares if he’s said things in the past that had indirectly made me contemplate my value as a human being? Who cares if it’s tearing me apart to keep something, as fundamental as my sexuality, a secret? Who cares if I have no one to talk to? _

_ ‘None of that matters. It doesn’t matter that I could be rejected. Or disowned. Or abused.  _

_ ‘I deserve it.’ _

The last thought seized Light’s heart. 

He passed out in bed, all thoughts leaving him as he drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeyyyy! Wassup dudes, girlies, pals, buddies, and homies ❤️
> 
> I just wanted to say in advance that Soichiro is a dad doing his best! Trust me, he’s trying! 
> 
> In all honesty, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to write a fic about a character with homophobic/transphobic parents. There’s just a new level of disgusting when parents (who are supposed to love their children no matter what) cannot accept their children for being LGBTQ+. 
> 
> So, don’t worry about Soichiro and Sachiko, I promise. Under all that heteronormativity and obliviousness, they really are good parents ❤️


	13. School Cancellation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m baaaccckkk!!!! Hiya! Sorry, the holidays are always a busy time, but I have returned!!! With a chapter!!!
> 
> Thank you so much for the support peeps!!❤️❤️❤️
> 
> (Also, completely irrelevant fact, but cancelled can be spelled both as cancelled and canceled. I didn’t know this, so you might see both 👀)
> 
> ⚠️ TW ⚠️ : crime scene, heavy gore

**Bzzz**

**Bzzz**

**Bzzz**

**Bzzz**

Light let out a muffled groan into his pillow.

**Bzzz**

**Bzzz**

**Bzzz-**

Light picked up his phone.

“Hello?” He asked, voice hoarse. 

**“Oh my God, Light! Did you hear the news!?”** Misa screamed through the speaker. Light pulled the phone away from his ear and grimaced. He glanced at the time that read 3:00 am. 

This left Light with 2 very important discoveries. 

\- He had been asleep for 7 hours and no one came to check on him 

\- Misa was calling him at three in the morning with news...which she never did unless...

Oh shit.

“Light, there’s been another killing! We got an email that said we don’t have school tomorrow!” Misa said, her voice squeaking with panic. 

“What?” Light replied. 

He understood what she had said but...they’d never canceled school because of it. 

The authorities collectively agreed that it was safer for students to be in groups. Not to mention, usually kids were killed when they were out of school, so there was no danger associated with going to school. 

“They haven’t released many details, but there have been roomers that the murder happened inside the building! Like, the murder happened-“

*****

“-inside the school. Room D-7, science hall. An officer is waiting for you.”

L hung up on Naomi and quickly rushed down the school hallways. 

_ ‘In the school? Why?’ _

L made it to room D-7. 

Lord.

The body was unrecognizable. 

The limbs were severed off, along with the head. The arms were positioned about a foot away from the body. The legs were lying on the floor, not too far from the body. The head, though severed off, was positioned close to the neck. The chest was cut open, along with the stomach, exposing all organs. 

L made his way over to the body. 

The skull was bashed in, disfiguring the face. The rib cage was practically missing, except for the single bone that pierced the heart. It was sticking out of the body vertically, like a tree growing out of the ground. 

It looked like something a child would do. 

“We identified this man as 17-year-old Kin Hagiwara,” a young officer said, “He was last seen yesterday at his home at 5:30 pm. He was found at 2:30 am because a neighbor heard shouting in the building and called the police. According to our investigators, he’s been dead for less than an hour. We’ve surveyed the area for evidence, but it seems to be clear.”

“Understood,” L replied, “please remove everyone from the premises.”

The woman nodded and promptly left the room.

So.

Kin Hagiwara, former drug dealer. The last known deal was three days ago in the warehouse where he handed L the bag of white powder. 

That very same Kin Hagiwara was now dead in L’s high school.

_ ‘Why? Why is he dead in my high school, which he didn’t attend? Why such a gruesome murder? _

_ ’And, yes, the murder is gruesome...but not passionate. There’s no method. It looks as if someone was bored and had to find a creative way to position the body. There’s no motivation, no planning.’ _

L surveyed the crime scene once more and became more sure of his predictions. L had seen gruesome murders before, but this was just...lazy. Messy for no reason. 

L crouched down in front of the body. He pulled out his camera and snapped a photo.

The flesh of Kin’s stomach was smoothly cut, probably by something similar to a vegetable knife.

L moved to arm and found it was cut off by something sturdier and more industrial. The jagged edges were evidence of a chainsaw or bone saw. 

Finally, L moved to the bashed-in face. The blunt force used in the face was evidence of a blunt object. Most likely, a hammer. 

_ ‘A knife, a bone saw, a hammer. Considering the state of the blood in the room, the victim was alive when he was brought in here. Speaking of blood...’ _

L stared intently at the bloodstains closest to the body. Indeed they were fairly fresh, barely staining brown around the edges. 

_ ‘Interesting. All the blood here looks as if it was spilled within minutes of each other. No layers, no real time difference. And the three weapons as well...could one person really do it? Could one person completely disfigure, dismember, and disembowel one person in mere minutes? _

_ ‘No. That’s unlikely. So, there was more than one person. _

_ ‘The Tsuki Killer had now become the Tsuki Killers. _

_ How fun.’ _

*****

**“Light? Liigghhtt? Are you there?”** Misa asked.

Light was not. 

“In...in the...school?” Light’s voice broke. 

**“Yeah. Light? Are you okay?”** Misa asked, concern overtaking her casual tone.

“Yeah...yeah...I’m okay. Just surprised. Okay then, thanks. I’m going to sleep then.”

**“No you’re not,”** Misa rebutted. 

She wasn’t wrong. 

“I know, but I don’t want to wake up my family. I’ll call you tomorrow. Bye,” Light hung up his phone.

He laid back in his bed and sighed deeply. 

Another one.

He closed his eyes, about to attempt to sleep again when he heard someone leave their room and go downstairs. Based on the heaviness of the steps, it had to be his father. 

Light crept out of his room, gently stepping as to not wake anyone up, and silently walked downstairs. 

Light stood in the shadows for a moment, contemplating if it would be better if he just went back to sleep. 

He decided against it.

“...Dad?” He whispered.

Soichiro jolted and turned around to face Light.

“Lord, you almost gave me a heart attack...what are you doing awake?”

“I...um, I got a call from Misa about another m-murder. She said school was canceled because apparently, it happened at school,” Light’s voice wavered at the end and he could feel the lump in his throat. He was thankful for the darkness that hid his expression from his father. If his father saw him crying...well, he didn’t really know what would happen because it hadn’t occurred in a very long time, but Light’s sure it wouldn’t be good. 

“...that’s right. I have to go now, Light. I just got called to the station. Try to get some rest.”

“Okay, goodnight.”

And with that, Soichiro left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeyyyy!!! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry, this chapter is shorter and not as well thought out as the other chapters are 😔
> 
> I tried!!!
> 
> So yeah, if you have any predictions, go ahead and leave them in the comments 😏
> 
> Low key tho, y’all come up with some great theories 👀


	14. Lecture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! I'm back! Sorry for the random break, but I hope you all had a lovely winter break and a happy new year! The chapter updates might be a bit slow, so sorry for that, but the stress of the Holidays made it difficult for me to find time to write. 
> 
> Thank you so much for sticking around! Thank you guys so much for the support; it means the world to me! Okay then, on with the fic!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Headquarters was bustling with activity when Soichiro arrived. Aizawa was shuffling through papers, Matsuda was running around like it was the end of the world, and Ryuzaki was organizing crime scene photos, mumbling something under his breath. 

While it was far from organized, it was nothing compared to the usual chaos that ensued at the station during the Tsuki case. 

Soichiro sighed deeply at the impending conversation. Now he knew for a fact that Ryuzaki was spying on Light, there was no way to ignore the possibility that Light was a suspect. 

“Ah, hello Soichiro,” L greeted, still preoccupied with the photos he was analyzing. 

“Hello, Ryuzaki. I see there’s been a development in the case,” Soichiro looked at the photos. He winced at the gruesomeness of the photos. While he’d felt with murders before, he hadn’t seen something nearly this gruesome since he worked with Light.

“Yes. One victim, 17-year-old Kin Hagiwara, a former drug dealer. He was closer to the bottom of the hierarchy,” L said, eying another photo, “No trace evidence left behind. Despite the disembowelment and amputations, no organs were removed, so we aren’t dealing with a black market organ dealer or a cannibal. Although there were 3 different tools used to dismember Hagiwara in a matter of minutes, so there are at least two people involved in this crime.”

“Two? So far in all the cases, there had only been evidence that one person committed the crimes,” Soichiro said.

“Yes, but that seems to have changed with the recent developments of the case. I do not doubt that there are now multiple people involved in this crime. The question is: why?” L took a sip of his overly saccharine tea. 

“Maybe they ran into a problem along the way? Maybe something happened that made the Tsuki killer call for help?” Matsuda offered, before continuing his running around.

“That is possible, although it doesn’t fit the time frame. It is more likely that people were notified in advance that they would be a part of the crime,” Ryuzaki continued to study the photos.

“Any suspects?” Soichiro asked, hoping to get the conversation to what he wanted to discuss. Specifically, why Light was a part of this at all. 

“…So you figured out that Light is my suspect. I’d been investigating him since the beginning of the case. I thought you’d catch on earlier. I’m a little disappointed it took you this long,” L finally put down the photos but didn’t look in Soichiro’s direction.

“Light only told me yesterday that you knew each other.” Soichiro narrowed his eyes.

“Then I take it that you two don’t communicate that often?” L picked up a crime scene photo. It was a jab at Soichiro’s parenting that hit much harder than he’d ever admit. 

Soichiro didn’t dignify that comment with a response, “Why are you investigating Light? What has he done?” Soichiro interrogated.

“Hm, well, he has connections to police data, a strong sense of justice, intelligence, and previous knowledge of forensics. When we sent spies after him, he physically assaulted the FBI agent that was following him and then, somehow, discovered the identity of another. His most recent phone call is with none other than Misa Amane, who I believe to be an accomplice in his crimes. This phone call was only 30 minutes after the body was discovered, so while it is possible that Misa received a notification from the school, why would she be awake at 3:00 am on a school night? Not to mention, isn’t it somewhat coincidental that Light’s name has the kanji for moon, and this killer murders once every moon cycle?” 

The room had gone quiet. 

“Light fits the profile of the Tsuki killer surprisingly well if he were innocent.” L added afterward. 

“You told me the spies were just a precaution, but he seems to be your main suspect now. Ryuzaki, tell me honestly, what do you think the possibilities of Light being the Tsuki killer are?” Soichiro asked, still grappling with the fact that the world’s greatest detective believed that his son could be a murderer.

“Honestly, I’m not sure you would want to hear it, Mr. Yagami.” L sipped his tea.

“Just tell me.”

L could lie, but it may be better for Soichiro to know the statistics earlier.

“…90%.”

Soichiro took a stuttered breath.

“90%?”

L answered with a curt nod.

“But that may change depending on the circumstances. For example, what happened after your dinner last night? Where was Light between the hours of 6 pm and 3 am?” L asked.

Soichiro could’ve lied. He really could’ve. If he lied now, then maybe Ryuzaki wouldn’t suspect Light. They could move on to the next suspect and leave Light in peace. It would save Light so much trouble and stress-

“He wasn’t with you, was he?” Soichiro looked up, shocked and about to protest, but L interrupted him, “You were thinking about lying to me because it would provide a more solid alibi. If he was with your family, you would’ve answered immediately, but you didn’t. You were thinking about lying to me, which would do neither of us any good. So please, where was Light last night?”

Soichiro stiffened before he finally relented. “He left dinner and went to his room to study.”

“Did you or your wife check on him between the hours of 6 pm and 3 am?” 

“No," Soichiro answered.

"So he could've snuck out between the hours of 6pm and 3am?" L asked.

"Yes, but-"

L raised up a hand to show he didn't care to hear any responses.

“I’m not sure if that says more about Light or your parenting skills.” L mumbled. Soichiro took a deep breath so he didn’t snap at Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki continued, “Did Light leave the table abruptly? Did he receive a phone call or a text from someone? Did he check his phone at all?”

“Light did leave the table earlier than everyone else, but we have a no-phone policy at dinner.”

“Did he check his watch?”

“…I don’t remember.”

“That was a trick question, Light doesn’t have a watch.”

Soichiro had to take a deep breath so he didn’t smack Ryuzaki. Sometimes it was hard to forget that the annoying teenager was his boss as of right now. 

_’So Soichiro doesn’t even know if his son wears a watch or not, it’d be near impossible for him to pick up on the subtle signs that his son was a murder. But from what I’ve gathered, it seems as though Light wasn’t contacted before he left the table,’_ L hummed in thought. 

“What conversation were you having when Light left?” L asked.

“I think we were talking about…oh, we were talking about Light and his dating life, I believe.”

“Hmm…And how is it?”

Soichiro choked, “Excuse me?”

“His dating life? How is it?”

Soichiro looked at L suspiciously. 

“Um…not very exciting from what he’s told me.”

“When I brought it up, he told me the same thing. As far as I know, he isn’t lying to you. Although it did seem like a rather uncomfortable topic for him. Do you think you offended him?” L asked.

Soichiro furrowed his eyebrows. “I hope not. Sure, dating is an uncomfortable subject for the dinner table, but Light has thick skin.”

L sighed. _’So, Soichiro is an unobservant parent which makes him absolutely useless in this situation. Then again, he only goes home once every three weeks…’_

“Soichiro.”

“Yes?”

“I’m giving you more days off this week. Please observe Light diligently.” L ordered. 

“Okay.”

“Also, I lied?”

“About what?”

“93% now.”

*****

Light woke up disoriented and restless. What was going on? He grabbed his phone and squinted at the notifications. 

**MA: LLLIIIIGGHHHHHTTTTTT 😤😤😤😤😤😤**

**MA: BBBBRRRRROOOOOO 😨😨😨**

**MA: ok, ye, this is pretty big news, i'll leave you alone for now**

**MA: please talk to me soon tho, ilysm ❤️**

Then it clicked.

Oh right. A _murder_.

He thought about texting Misa back but stopped when he saw the messages from Ryuzaki.

**RR: Are you free to study this week? I understand if you’d like to wait until school is back in, but there isn’t much to do now since it was canceled for a week.**

Light considered it. He could meet up and study or he could stay home for the whole week left alone with his thoughts…

**LY: Sure, yeah, my schedule is clear this week. What day would work best for you?**

**RR: I was thinking Wednesday this week, around noon?**

**LY: Works great for me. Your house or mine?**

**RR: Mine’s a bit of a mess from just moving in. Is it okay if we meet at yours?**

**LY: Yep. See you then.**

**RR: See you later.**

Light put his phone down in sighed. It was only Monday and it was already one of the most stressful weeks of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support! Sorry it takes me so long to respond to comments, but I try to give every comment a response. Just know that I read them all when they're posted and it means so much to me!!!


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